Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

2.3
2.1.2 Uranium Enrichment
To date, two impact statements have been prepared relative to uranium enrichment:
Final Environmental Statement, Expansion of U.S. Uranium Enrichment Capacity,
ERDA-1543 (ERDA 1976)
Final Environmental Impact Statement, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Site,
Piketon, Ohio, ERDA-1555 (ERDA 1977a).
2.1.3 Uranium Fuel Fabrication
No generic statement has been prepared for uranium fuel fabrication. This operation is
covered by individual statements for specific facilities. Examples of such impact state-
ments are:
Environmental Impact Appraisal, Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Columbia Site Commer-
cial Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Plant, Columbia, South Carolina, April 1977.
Environmental Impact Appraisal of Nuclear Fuel Services Erwin Plant, Erwin, Ten-
nessee, January 1978.
2.1.4 Low-Level Waste
At present, low-level wastes are regulated by the NRC or by Agreement States. In the
event legislation is passed giving DOE any responsibilities related to disposal of low-level
wastes from commercial activities, a programmatic environmental statement would be prepared.
Environmental impacts of low-level waste activities are described in various NRC documents
such as Final Generic Environmental Statement on the Use of Recycled Plutonium in Mixed
Oxide Fuel in Light-Water Cooled Reactors, NUREG-O02 (NRC 1976).
2.1.5 Spent Fuel Storage
In October 1977, DOE announced a Spent Fuel Storage Policy for nuclear power reactors.
Under this policy, U.S. utilities would be given the opportunity to deliver spent power
reactor fuel to the U.S. Government in exchange for payment of a fee. The U.S. Government
would also be prepared to accept a limited amount of spent fuel from foreign sources when
such action would contribute to meeting U.S. nonproliferation goals. A bill was submitted
to Congress to authorize action required to implement the Spent Fuel Storage Policy. This
bill, known as the "Spent Nuclear Fuel Act of 1979," would authorize the Secretary of Energy
to acquire or construct one or more away-from-reactor (AFR) storage facilities. The Secre-
tary would be authorized to accept title to and provide interim storage and ultimate dis-
posal for domestic spent fuel and limited amounts of foreign spent fuel. A final program-
matic EIS, Final Environmental Impact Statement, U.S. Spent Fuel Policy, DOE/EIS-0015 (DOE
1980a) has been issued which addresses the environmental impacts of various options regard-
ing the interim storage of domestic fuel, the receipt of some foreign fuel, and the fee
methodology for determining the charge for spent fuel storage.