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Spring Meeting Presentations Available Online

Thank you to everyone who attended our Hybrid Spring 2024 LLW Forum Meeting. Presentations can now be viewed online.

Click here to view

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SAVE THE DATE!

Our next meeting will be held October 9-10 in Reno, NV.

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Members-only page: http://llwforum.org/members-only/

News: http://llwforum.org/updates/

Meetings: http://llwforum.org/llw-forum-meeting/

Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Conference Room #1015195 North 1950 West
Salt Lake City, UT

Click here for more information and to see the agenda.

(Board members and interested persons may participate electronically/telephonically.)

Join by Phone:(US) +1-978-593-3748

PIN: 902 672 356#

If you have any questions you may contact the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control at (801) 536-0200 or send an email to: dwmrcpublic@utah.gov.

The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum, Inc. will be holding its Spring 2024 meeting in Orlando, FL.

LLW Forum Meeting: April 3-4, 2024

DSWG Meeting: April 5, 2024

Reserve your room now while the rates are low!

Click here to book a room.

Click here to register.

Here’s a link to the posting in the Register.

You can also view the proposed changes on the TLLRWDCC website at: http://www.tllrwdcc.org/rules/. 

If you would like to comment, please address comments to the Commission and send them to comments@tllrwdcc.org. 

The Commission will review and respond to all comments.  

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Daniel B. Shrum
Executive Director
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum, Inc.
www.llwforum.org
dshrum@llwforum.org
801-580-3201

On May 17, 2023, the NRC staff held a public meeting on its Integrated Low-level Radioactive Waste Disposal rulemaking that will integrate disposal criteria for the near-surface disposal of Greater-than-Class C waste and the ongoing Part 61 rulemaking. In that meeting, staff described the rulemaking background and preliminary direction on the key technical topics and answered questions from participants. 

Recently NRC staff have received questions from members of the public regarding this rulemaking as well as a request for an additional public meeting.

As a result, the NRC staff is planning to hold a second virtual public meeting on this rulemaking on January 23, 2024 from 2-4pm Eastern.

The meeting has been announced on the NRC’s Public Meeting Notification System site, and you can find it here.

Staff plan to provide a brief overview of the rulemaking history and the proposed changes at the outset of the meeting. The meeting will then include time reserved for members of the public to make presentations and to ask questions. Based on the feedback received, the NRC staff will consider whether any changes are needed to the preliminary proposed rule currently under development.

In our prior ListServ message on this public meeting we requested a response from those who would like to make a presentation at this meeting, and are extending the request date to December 22, 2023.

If you would like to make a presentation, please send an e-mail to George.Tartal@nrc.gov by that date and briefly describe the subject of your presentation.

Participants are not required to make a presentation. All participants will be given an opportunity to speak at the meeting.

HIGH-RISK RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

Opportunities Exist to Improve the Security of Sources No Longer in Use

“Radioactive sources” refers to nuclear materials that emit radiation and are sealed in containers that are specifically designed for use in medical, industrial, or research applications. For example, cesium-137 is widely used in a device that irradiates donor blood to make it safer for transfusions.

These radioactive sources can only be used for a defined period—based on radioactive half-life—but some users delay disposal, leaving sources vulnerable to theft. Cost and difficulty of disposal are 2 of the causes we found for delays.

Our recommendations are for federal agencies to incentivize users to promptly dispose of radioactive sources.

What GAO Found

Licensees of high-risk radioactive sources may delay disposing of sources that are in their possession but no longer in use (i.e., disused) for a variety of reasons. For example, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) does not require licensees to dispose of radioactive sources unless a licensee is terminating all activities under its license at specific locations.

In addition, some high-risk sources containing radioactive materials that have a long life cycle, including cesium-137 and americium-241, have limited disposal pathways that may require government assistance or may not have a viable disposal pathway at all. Specifically, sources used in the oil and gas industry that contain americium-241 of foreign origin currently have no permanent disposal pathway, leaving them vulnerable to loss or abandonment.

Disused High-Risk Radioactive Sources at a Source Processing Facility

GAO identified leading practices supported by key entities—such as the International Atomic Energy Agency—that are not reflected in NRC requirements and could help address some disposal challenges. These practices include tracking sources, imposing limits and fees on possession, or collecting financial assurances at the time a source is purchased to offset later disposal costs.

Assessing adoption of these leading practices nationwide may more broadly incentivize timely disposal, potentially reduce overall cost to the government, and reduce the risk that radioactive sources could be used in a dirty bomb.

To read more about the Study and its recommendations, click here.

RELATED: Police find radioactive material that could fuel ‘dirty bombs’ in Houston scrapyard

“Integrated Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal”

December 5, 2023
1:00 pm EDT
Room T2-B1
Two White Flint Plaza
11545 Rockville Pike

The Subcommittee is meeting in a hybrid format with both in-person and remote capability. Members of the public may observe the meeting by using the MSTeams link here or using the following number to listen into the meeting:

Teleconference Line: 301-576-2978

Passcode: 935065924#

All times are EDT.

For more information, please contact:

Derek Widmayer

(301) 415-5375

derek.widmayer@nrc.gov

Recently NRC staff have received questions from members of the public regarding this rulemaking as well as a request for an additional public meeting.

As a result, staff is planning to hold a second public meeting on this rulemaking in mid-January 2024.

The meeting will be announced on the NRC’s Public Meeting Notification System site. Staff plan to provide a brief overview of the rulemaking history and the proposed changes at the outset of the meeting. The meeting will then include time reserved for members of the public to make presentations and to ask questions. Based on the feedback received, the NRC staff will consider whether any changes are needed to the preliminary proposed rule currently under development.

If you would like to make a presentation at this meeting, please send an e-mail to George.Tartal@nrc.gov by December 1, 2023, and briefly describe the subject of your presentation. Participants are not required to make a presentation. All participants will be given an opportunity to speak at the meeting.

• Carlos Felipe Uriarte, Nominee for Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice
• Gerald H. Acker, Nominee for Commissioner & Chair of the International Joint Commission
• Annie Caputo, Nominee for Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Bradley R. Crowell, Nominee for Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Annie Caputo, Nominee for Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Annie Caputo currently consults with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) regarding international collaboration on advanced nuclear reactors. Prior to her work at INL, Caputo served as a professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), assisting the Committee with issues related to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s infrastructure. Preceding her SASC assignment, Caputo served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for three years until the term expired in June 2021.

Caputo previously served as a professional staff member and senior policy advisor for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Committee on Energy & Commerce from 2005 to 2018. Prior to her positions on Capitol Hill, she worked for Exelon Corporation and its predecessor company Commonwealth Edison, holding positions in both nuclear fuel and government affairs. Caputo has also served on the Board of the American Nuclear Society. Caputo earned her Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two children. 

Bradley R. Crowell, Nominee for Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Bradley R. Crowell serves as Director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Crowell was first appointed as Director in 2016 by former Governor Brian Sandoval and was reappointed by Governor Steve Sisolak in 2019. At DCNR, he leads approximately 1000 employees across 8 divisions and manages a nearly $300 million biennial budget. Crowell has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of energy, environment, natural resources, climate change, and national security, including executive leadership positions in federal and state government. Prior to his current role, he worked for multiple Members of Congress, including former Nevada Governor and Senator Richard Bryan (D-NV) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Crowell served in the Obama-Biden Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy from 2010-2016, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2013 as the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. 

Crowell resides in Reno, Nevada, with his wife, Mrs. Rebecca Claypool and their 1-year-old daughter Hazel, and is a native of Carson City, Nevada. 

For more information, go to: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/03/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-13/

The SECY package contains the staff paper, which includes six high-level recommendations to the Commission and six commitments that the staff will undertake, and 13 enclosures explaining the review findings in detail. The documents contained in the SECY’s package sent to the Commission can be found here.

For more information, please click here.