Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Electrometallurgical Treatment of Sodium-Bonded Spent Nuclear Fuel in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Argonne National Laboratory-West, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho

Federal RegisterFeb 22, 1999

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for

Electrometallurgical Treatment of Sodium-Bonded Spent Nuclear Fuel in

the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Argonne National Laboratory-West,

Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy announces its intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the proposed electrometallurgical

treatment of Department of Energy-owned sodium-bonded spent nuclear

fuel in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Argonne National Laboratory-

West (ANL-W). ANL-W, a center of nuclear technology development and

testing, is located on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental

Laboratory (INEEL) site in southeastern Idaho. The Department proposes

to treat its inventory of sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel to remove

and stabilize the reactive metallic sodium constituent and to produce

metal and ceramic waste forms, considered to be high-level waste, that

would facilitate interim storage and ultimate disposal of this

material. The EIS will evaluate reasonable action alternatives to

electrometallurgical treatment in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at

ANL-W and a no-action alternative. The Department invites the general

public, other Federal agencies, American Indian tribes, state and local

governments, and all other interested

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parties to comment on the scope of this EIS.

DATES: To ensure consideration in the preparation of the draft EIS,

comments should be transmitted or postmarked by April 8, 1999. Comments

submitted after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.

The Department will conduct public scoping meetings in Idaho Falls

and Boise in Idaho, near the Department's Savannah River Site (SRS) in

South Carolina, and in the Washington, DC area, to provide the public

with information about the proposed project and to receive oral and

written comments on the scope of the EIS, including reasonable

alternatives and environmental issues that the Department should

consider. The dates, times, and locations for these public meetings are

as follows:

March 9, 1999 (6:00 pm-9:00 pm)

Shilo Inn, 780 Lindsay Blvd., Idaho Falls, ID 83402, (208) 523-0088

March 11, 1999 (6:00 pm-9:00 pm)

Boise Centre on the Grove, 850 West Front Street, Boise, ID 83702,

(208) 336-8900

March 15, 1999 (6:00 pm-9:00 pm)

North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Avenue, North

Augusta, SC 29842, (803) 441-4290

March 18, 1999 (2:00 pm-5:00 pm)

Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, VA 22202, (703) 418-1234

These public scoping meetings will also be announced in local media

at least 15 days prior to the meeting dates. During the first hour of

each meeting attendees may register, view displays and discuss issues

and concerns informally with Department representatives, after which

there will be a formal presentation, a follow-on question, answer, and

comment period, and the opportunity for additional informal

discussions.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS, requests to speak

at the public scoping meetings, requests for special arrangements to

enable participation at scoping meetings (e.g., an interpreter for the

hearing impaired), requests to be placed on the EIS document

distribution list, and questions concerning the project should be sent

to: Susan Lesica, Document Manager, Office of Nuclear Facilities

Management, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology, U.S.

Department of Energy, NE-40, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown,

Maryland 20874-1290

Interested parties may also submit comments and requests by

facsimile to (877) 621-8288, or they may call (877) 450-6904 to leave a

detailed message with their comments and requests. These are both toll-

free telephone numbers. Comments and requests may also be submitted by

electronic mail to [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the

Department of Energy NEPA process, please contact: Carol Borgstrom,

Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, Office of Environment,

Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Energy, EH-42, 1000 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0119, 202-586-4600 or leave a message

at 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Department of Energy is responsible for the safe and efficient

management of 250 different types of spent nuclear fuel, including its

ultimate disposition (which is expected to be disposal in a geologic

repository). Some Department spent fuels may be suitable for disposal

with little or no stabilizing treatment. Other spent fuel types may not

be suitable for disposal without significant treatment or

stabilization.

One type of spent nuclear fuel that may not be suitable for

disposal without treatment is sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel. Sodium-

bonded spent nuclear fuel contains metallic sodium, a highly reactive

material. Metallic sodium reacts vigorously with water or moist air

producing heat, potentially explosive hydrogen gas, and sodium

hydroxide, a corrosive substance. Sodium metal was used as a heat

transfer medium within the stainless steel cladding of sodium-bonded

fuel and as coolant in the nuclear reactors in which these fuels were

used. To the extent possible, the highly reactive sodium has been

removed from external surfaces of these fuels after their use, but a

portion remains bonded to the uranium metal alloy fuel within the

cladding and cannot be removed without further treatment. The presence

of reactive or pyrophoric material, such as metallic sodium, could

complicate the process of qualifying and licensing such spent fuel for

disposal, which would require data and predictive analyses sufficient

to demonstrate that emplacement of the spent fuel would not adversely

affect a repository's ability to protect the environment and public

health.

The Department believes that treatment to remove metallic sodium

and convert this spent nuclear fuel into a compact waste form would

reduce complications of disposal qualification and licensing.

Technologies for spent nuclear fuel treatment that might facilitate

such qualification and licensing should therefore be considered in

reaching a disposition decision for Department-owned sodium-bonded

fuels. One such technology for sodium-bonded spent fuel disposition is

the electrometallurgical treatment technique that the Department is

developing and demonstrating at the Argonne National Laboratory. This

technology is currently the most developed for treatment of sodium-

bonded spent fuel. In addition to electrometallurgical treatment, the

Department will examine all reasonable alternative technologies and

assess the technical risks associated with these various potential

solutions.

In a 1995 report, the National Research Council Committee on

Electrometallurgical Techniques for DOE Spent Fuel Treatment

recommended that the Department confirm the technical feasibility and

cost effectiveness of electrometallurgical treatment of its sodium-

bonded spent nuclear fuel through a technology demonstration using

sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel that had been removed from the

Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) at ANL-W. Prior to acting on

the recommendation, the Department prepared the Environmental

Assessment for the Electrometallurgical Treatment Research and

Demonstration Project in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Argonne

National Laboratory-West (DOE/EA-1148) and issued a Finding of No

Significant Impact on May 15, 1996. The demonstration project addresses

both kinds of spent fuel assemblies in the EBR-II spent nuclear fuel

inventory. These are driver fuel assemblies and blanket fuel

assemblies, and they total about 26 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM).

One MTHM is equal to 2,200 pounds of uranium, thorium, or

plutonium. The driver fuel contains highly enriched uranium and was

used in the active region of the nuclear reactor core. Blanket fuel

contains depleted uranium and was used in areas around and near the

driver fuel in the reactor core. The demonstration project now nearing

completion involves treatment of 100 EBR-II driver assemblies and 25

EBR-II blanket assemblies (approximately 1.6 MTHM, or only 6.25% of the

EBR-II inventory) in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at ANL-W. The

research and demonstration project was initiated in June 1996 and is

scheduled to be completed in August 1999.

The National Research Council is continuing to evaluate the

electrometallurgical treatment research

[[Page 8555]]

and demonstration project. In its most recent report titled,

Electrometallurgical Techniques for U.S. Department of Energy Spent

Fuel Treatment--Spring 1998 Status Report on Argonne National

Laboratory's R&D Activity (National Academy Press, Washington, DC,

1998), the Council acknowledged progress in the demonstration and

recommended that the demonstration be carried to completion. The

Department believes that this progress and the absence of significant

roadblocks to successful completion of the demonstration warrant

proposing electrometallurgical treatment of the remainder of the EBR-II

and other sodium-bonded spent fuels (i.e., a total of 62 MTHM) and is

initiating the environmental review process under NEPA. Accordingly,

the Department is announcing its intent to prepare an EIS for the

proposed treatment of the remainder of Department sodium-bonded spent

nuclear fuel.

Data from the ongoing demonstration project will be used in

preparing the EIS. The National Research Council will issue a final

report on the technology demonstration upon completion of the

demonstration project. DOE will consider the Council's report in

reaching a decision regarding the disposition of sodium-bonded spent

nuclear fuel.

Purpose and Need for Agency Action

In a 1995 agreement with the State of Idaho [Settlement Agreement

and Consent Order issued by the Court on October 17, 1995, in the

actions Public Service Co. of Colorado v. Batt, No. CV 91-0035-S-EJL

(D. Id.), and United States v. Batt, No. CV 91-0054-EJL (D. Id.), the

Department committed to remove all spent nuclear fuel from Idaho by

2035. More than 98 percent of the Department's sodium-bonded spent

nuclear fuel is located at INEEL near Idaho Falls, Idaho, and is

subject to the requirements of the Settlement Agreement and Consent

Order. The remaining Department sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel

included in the proposed action is at the Hanford Reservation in

Richland, Washington, the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque,

New Mexico, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge,

Tennessee. In order to remove sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel from the

State of Idaho to meet the terms of the Settlement Agreement and

Consent Order referenced above, the Department believes the best

approach would be to stabilize or remove the reactive metallic sodium

constituent and prepare a waste form that may be more assuredly

demonstrated to be acceptable for disposal.

It is also prudent to evaluate the electrometallurgical treatment

proposal and alternative technologies now, while the Department is

performing site characterization activities for a potential geologic

repository. Contemplated waste forms resulting from treatment or

packaging of sodium-bonded spent fuel should be developed as much as

possible in parallel with any repository development to promote

consistency between the two efforts and to minimize technical risks

associated with waste form qualification and acceptance for geologic

disposal. While the alternative technologies for treatment of sodium-

bonded spent fuel may not be as mature as the electrometallurgical

treatment technology, their potential utility can be assessed in this

EIS. Should the Department decide, after completing this EIS, to pursue

a disposition path other than electrometallurgical treatment, there

will still be sufficient time to develop an alternative technology. If

a treatment technology decision is significantly delayed, however, the

Department could functionally lose its expertise and corporate

experience in the specialized electrometallurgical treatment technology

at ANL-West, which would hamper future consideration and increase the

cost of electrometallurgical treatment for sodium-bonded spent fuel

disposal. Therefore, the Department believes it is prudent to proceed

now with this EIS for electrometallurgical treatment of sodium-bonded

spent fuel.

Proposed Action

The Department proposes to treat its sodium-bonded spent nuclear

fuel \1\ using the electrometallurgical treatment process in the Fuel

Conditioning Facility at ANL-W. Electrometallurgical processing

involves the dissolution of spent nuclear fuel by use of an electric

current in a molten salt mixture. The uranium in the fuel would be

collected from a molten salt mixture at the cathode and subsequently

melted and cast into metal ingots. The metal cladding from the fuel

elements and noble metal fission products would be retrieved

undissolved from the anode, melted, and cast into metal ingots.

Remaining fission products and all transuranic elements would be

removed from the molten salt mixture by ion exchange and subsequently

isolated in a ceramic waste form. In this process, the metallic sodium

in the spent nuclear fuel would be converted to non-reactive sodium

chloride (same composition as table salt) and incorporated in the

ceramic waste form.

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\1\ The Department has no plan or intention to apply this

technology to any other types of spent nuclear fuel. Nevertheless,

the Department can foresee a potential need to treat small

quantities of certain spent fuels if a non-treatment (e.g., high

integrity can) approach to disposing of such spent fuels were to be

determined not to meet disposal requirements. In that case,

electrometallurgical treatment might be among the reasonable

alternative treatment technologies that would be considered.

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Based on available information, the Department believes the

electro-

metallurgical treatment process would produce metal and ceramic high-

level radioactive waste forms that could be qualified and licensed for

disposal. In addition, uranium would be separated from both the driver

fuel and the blanket fuel and not disposed of. The highly enriched

uranium separated from the driver fuel assemblies would be immediately

blended down in the Fuel Conditioning Facility to form low-enriched

uranium. This low-enriched uranium and the depleted uranium that would

be separated from blanket fuel assemblies would be cast as metal ingots

and stored with other uranium metal inventories at INEEL. The

disposition of these materials would be included in future Departmental

decisions regarding other similar materials.

The sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel inventory being proposed for

electrometallurgical treatment totals approximately 62 MTHM. This

inventory of sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel is currently stored as

follows:

Approximately 24 MTHM of EBR-II sodium-bonded driver and

blanket assemblies currently stored at ANL-W and approximately 2 MTHM

at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), both

located at INEEL.

Approximately 35 MTHM of sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel

from the Fermi-1 reactor, currently stored at INTEC.

Less than one MTHM consisting of six irradiated sodium-

bonded fuel assemblies and a number of sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel

pins currently stored at the Hanford Reservation near Richland,

Washington.

Less than 0.1 MTHM consisting of experimental capsules

currently stored at INTEC and Clinch River Breeder Reactor Program

experimental capsules currently stored at Sandia National Laboratories,

Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Less than 0.01 MTHM consisting of miscellaneous fast

reactor development fuel currently stored at Oak Ridge National

Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

[[Page 8556]]

The sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuels located at the Hanford

Reservation, Oak Ridge, and Sandia can be transported to INEEL pursuant

to the Record of Decision (60 FR 28680, June 1, 1995) for the

Department of Energy's Programmatic Spent Nuclear Fuel Management and

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Environmental Restoration and

Waste Management Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0203-F),

under the Settlement Agreement and Consent Order described above. These

spent fuels pose the same waste form acceptability issues and are

amenable to the same treatments as the EBR-II and Fermi-1 fuels stored

at INEEL.

Alternatives To Be Evaluated

The Department has identified the following alternatives to the

proposed electrometallurgical treatment of sodium-bonded spent nuclear

fuel in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at ANL-W.

A. No Action Alternative: Under this alternative, the Department

would not treat its sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel to facilitate

disposal. Analyses will address the viability of disposal without

treatment, and the impacts of continued storage at current locations.

Both temporary storage (to await alternative technology development)

and indefinite storage (in lieu of disposal) will be considered in

these analyses. Indefinite storage of spent nuclear fuel in Idaho would

not be consistent with the Settlement Agreement and Consent Order in

which the Department committed to remove all spent nuclear fuel from

Idaho by 2035.

B. Technology Alternatives: The National Research Council

independently assessed other treatment technologies as possible

alternatives to electrometallurgical treatment for EBR-II sodium-bonded

spent nuclear fuel. It concluded that all of the alternative treatment

processes evaluated, except the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction (PUREX)

process, are at an early stage of development. Significant research,

development, and demonstrations would be required to develop these

alternative treatment processes to the level of technical maturity of

the electrometallurgical treatment process for sodium-bonded spent

fuel. However, the Department will examine and analyze these

alternative technologies:

1. PUREX Process. This solvent extraction method for separating and

purifying uranium, plutonium, and other radionuclides from spent

nuclear fuel and irradiated targets is presently practiced at the SRS

for stabilization of materials that are not suitable for prolonged

storage in their present forms, and as such pose potential health and

safety risks. In the Savannah River Site Spent Nuclear Fuel Management

EIS, the Department is currently evaluating use of the PUREX process

for stabilizing approximately 17 MTHM of previously declad EBR-II spent

nuclear fuel stored at the SRS site. Use of the PUREX facility to treat

sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel being considered under this

alternative would require development of specific processes for

removing the stainless-steel cladding and sodium from the spent fuel.

The Department intends to evaluate the PUREX process at SRS as an

alternative to electrometallurgical treatment of the sodium-bonded

spent fuel inventory. Material streams from the PUREX process would be

uranium trioxide, plutonium metal, high-level waste in the form of

borosilicate glass canisters, and grouted low-level waste.

2. High-Integrity Cans. Under this alternative, the spent fuel

would be placed in high-integrity cans, after as little treatment as

necessary, to prepare it for disposal. This alternative would include

removal of as much of the metallic sodium as possible from the spent

fuel prior to loading it in the cans.

3. Glass Material Oxidation and Dissolution System (GMODS). The

basic concept is to combine unprocessed sodium-bonded spent nuclear

fuel and a sacrificial oxide, lead-borate glass, in a glass melter at a

temperature of 800-1000 deg.C. The uranium and the plutonium in the

spent fuel would be converted into oxides and dissolved in the glass.

Options to be analyzed are direct production of a borosilicate glass

waste form from the melt, using the melt as a feed to the PUREX

process, and coupling GMODS to the SRS Defense Waste Processing

Facility, where the melt would be fed directly to the existing glass

melter. Due to the powerful dissolution and oxidation properties of the

lead-borate glass melt, containment is a concern, and a water-cooled,

cold-wall, induction-heated melter must be used.

4. Melt and Dilute Process. The process would be similar to that

proposed for the treatment of aluminum-based spent nuclear fuels at the

SRS. The sodium-bonded spent fuel would be chopped and melted at

approximately 650 to 850 deg.C and then diluted by the addition of

depleted uranium and iron.

5. Chloride Volatility Process. This process would use the

differences in volatilities of chloride compounds to separate the

constituents of spent nuclear fuel. The major steps are: (1) high-

temperature chlorination at about 1500 deg.C and conversion of

metallic fuel and cladding to gaseous chloride compounds; (2) removal

of the transuranic chlorides and most of the fission products in a

molten zinc chloride bed at approximately 400 deg.C; (3) condensation

of the other chlorides (e.g., uranium hexachloride) in a series of

fluidized beds and condensers at successively lower temperatures; and

(4) zinc chloride regeneration/recycling. The transuranics and fission

product chlorides would then be converted into either fluorides or

oxides for disposal.

6. Direct Plasma Arc-Vitreous Ceramic Process. In this process, the

spent nuclear fuel would be melted and oxidized with the help of an

oxygen lance in a rotating furnace containing molten ceramic materials

at a temperature of 1600 deg.C or higher. A direct current plasma

torch would supply the energy required in the process. Rotation would

be used to keep the molten pool in the furnace. When the spent fuel is

homogeneously melted and oxidized throughout the ceramic, rotation

would be slowed to allow the molten vitreous ceramic to pour out by

gravity flow into a canister.

C. Location Alternatives: An alternative location for

electrometallurgical treatment on the INEEL site is the Test Area North

Hot Cell Facility. This alternative to the Fuel Conditioning Facility

at ANL-W will be evaluated in the EIS.

U.S. Nonproliferation Policy Implications

The United States does not encourage the civil use of plutonium,

and accordingly, does not itself engage in plutonium reprocessing for

either nuclear power or nuclear explosive purposes. Consistent with

this policy, the proposed action would not separate plutonium from the

processed sodium-bonded spent fuels. Further, by removing and diluting

the highly enriched uranium in the sodium-bonded driver fuel to low-

enriched uranium, the proposed project would support the U.S. goal of

minimizing civilian use of highly enriched uranium. However, to address

the concerns that the treatment of this fuel could encourage

reprocessing in other countries, the Department (Office of

Nonproliferation and National Security) will assess the

nonproliferation impacts of all the treatment technologies in the draft

EIS. This assessment will be made publicly available during the EIS

process. The combination of the information contained in the draft EIS,

the public comment in response to the draft EIS, and the

nonproliferation impacts assessment report will enable

[[Page 8557]]

the Department to make a sound decision regarding how to manage the

sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel.

Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

The issues listed below have been tentatively identified for

analysis in the EIS. This list is presented to facilitate public

comment on the scope of the EIS. It is not intended to be all-inclusive

or to predetermine the potential impacts of any of the alternatives.

The Department seeks public comment on the adequacy and inclusiveness

of the following issues.

Potential impact on ecosystems, including air quality,

surface, and groundwater quality, and plants and animals.

Potential health and safety impact to on-site workers and

to the public resulting from operations, including reasonably

foreseeable accidents.

Potential health and safety, environmental, and other

impact related to the transport of spent nuclear fuel for treatment.

Considerations related to the generation, treatment,

storage, and disposal of wastes, including the potential acceptability

of waste forms at a geologic repository.

Potential cumulative impacts of electrometallurgical and

alternative treatment process operations, including relevant impact

from other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable activities at the

operation site.

Potential impact on cultural resources.

Potential socioeconomic impact, including any

disproportionate impacts on minority and low income populations.

Pollution prevention and waste minimization opportunities.