Consequence Study of a Beyond-Design-Basis Earthquake Affecting the Spent Fuel Pool for a U.S. Mark I Boiling Water Reactor, 39781-39782 [2013-15840]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 127 / Tuesday, July 2, 2013 / Notices [FR Doc. 2013–15739 Filed 7–1–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION Sunshine Act Meeting Notice The Legal Services Corporation’s Finance Committee will meet telephonically on July 9, 2013. The meeting will commence at 11:00 a.m., EDT, and will continue until the conclusion of the Committee’s agenda. LOCATION: John N. Erlenborn Conference Room, Legal Services Corporation Headquarters, 3333 K Street NW., Washington DC 20007. PUBLIC OBSERVATION: Members of the public who are unable to attend in person but wish to listen to the public proceedings may do so by following the telephone call-in directions provided below. CALL-IN DIRECTIONS FOR OPEN SESSIONS: • Call toll-free number: 1–866–451– 4981; • When prompted, enter the following numeric pass code: 5907707348 • When connected to the call, please immediately ‘‘MUTE’’ your telephone. Members of the public are asked to keep their telephones muted to eliminate background noises. To avoid disrupting the meeting, please refrain from placing the call on hold if doing so will trigger recorded music or other sound. From time to time, the Chair may solicit comments from the public. STATUS OF MEETING: Open. MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 1. Approval of agenda 2. Approval of minutes of the Committee’s meeting of June 11, 2013 3. Discussion with Management regarding recommendation for LSC’s fiscal year 2015 appropriations request 4. Public comment 5. Consider and act on other business 6. Consider and act on adjournment of meeting. CONTACT PERSON FOR INFORMATION: Katherine Ward, Executive Assistant to the Vice President & General Counsel, at (202) 295–1500. Questions may be sent by electronic mail to FR_NOTICE_QUESTIONS@lsc.gov. ACCESSIBILITY: LSC complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. Upon request, meeting notices and materials will be made available in alternative formats to accommodate individuals with disabilities. Individuals needing other tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES DATE AND TIME: VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:48 Jul 01, 2013 Jkt 229001 accommodations due to disability in order to attend the meeting in person or telephonically should contact Katherine Ward, at (202) 295–1500 or FR_NOTICE_QUESTIONS@lsc.gov, at least 2 business days in advance of the meeting. If a request is made without advance notice, LSC will make every effort to accommodate the request but cannot guarantee that all requests can be fulfilled. Dated: June 27, 2013. Atitaya C. Rok, Staff Attorney. [FR Doc. 2013–15907 Filed 6–28–13; 11:15 am] BILLING CODE 7050–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2013–0136] Consequence Study of a BeyondDesign-Basis Earthquake Affecting the Spent Fuel Pool for a U.S. Mark I Boiling Water Reactor Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Draft report; request for comment. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a draft report for public comment, titled Consequence Study of a Beyond-DesignBasis Earthquake Affecting the Spent Fuel Pool for a U.S. Mark I Boiling Water Reactor (also referred to as the Spent Fuel Pool Study). The purpose of this study was to examine if faster removal of older, colder spent reactor fuel from pools to dry cask storage significantly reduces risks to public health and safety. Based on previous research showing earthquakes present the dominant risk for spent fuel pools, the draft study evaluated how a potential pool leakage from an unlikely severe earthquake might cause the used fuel to overheat and release radioactive material to the environment. This study provides publicly available consequence estimates of a hypothetical spent fuel pool accident initiated by a low likelihood seismic event at a specific reference plant. The study compares high-density and low-density spent fuel pool loading conditions and assesses the benefits of post-9/11 mitigation measures. Past risk studies have shown that storage of spent fuel in a highdensity configuration is safe and risk of a large release due to an accident is very low. This draft study’s results are consistent with earlier research conclusions that spent fuel pools are SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 39781 robust structures that are likely to withstand severe earthquakes without leaking. The NRC continues to believe, based on this study and previous studies that spent fuel pools provide adequate protection of public health and safety. The study’s results will help inform the Commission’s evaluation of whether expedited movement of spent fuel from spent fuel pools to dry storage sooner than current practice provides a substantial increase in safety. The insights from this analysis will inform a broader regulatory analysis of the spent fuel pools at all U.S. operating nuclear reactors as part of the NRC’s Japan Lessons-learned Tier 3 plan. DATES: Submit comments by August 1, 2013. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC staff is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods (unless this document describes a different method for submitting comments on a specific subject): • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2013–0136. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–492–3668; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. For additional direction on accessing information and submitting comments, see ‘‘Accessing Information and Submitting Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Algama, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001; telephone: 301–251–7940; email: Don.Algama@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments A. Accessing Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2013– 0136 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses and is E:\FR\FM\02JYN1.SGM 02JYN1 39782 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 127 / Tuesday, July 2, 2013 / Notices tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES publicly available, by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2013–0136. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may access publiclyavailable documents online in the NRC Library at https://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The draft report is available electronically in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13133A132. • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. B. Submitting Comments Please include Docket ID NRC–2013– 0136 in the subject line of your comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make your comment submission available to the public in this docket. The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https:// www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove identifying or contact information. If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS. II. Discussion The draft report documents a consequence study that continues the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s examination of the risks and VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:48 Jul 01, 2013 Jkt 229001 consequences of postulated spent fuel pool accidents. The purpose of this study is to examine if faster removal of spent reactor fuel from pools to dry cask storage significantly reduces risks to public health and safety. Based on previous research showing earthquakes present the dominant risk for spent fuel pools, the draft study evaluated how a potential pool leakage from an unlikely severe earthquake might cause the used fuel to overheat and release radioactive material to the environment. A spent fuel pool’s robust concrete structure and stainless steel liner keep more than 20 feet of water above the spent fuel stored within it ensuring ample cooling for the spent fuel and adequate radiation shielding for plant personnel. This study compared potential accident consequences from a pool nearly filled with spent fuel and a pool in which fuel that has cooled sufficiently has been removed at a selected U.S. Mark I boiling-water reactor spent fuel pool. The staff first evaluated whether a severe, though unlikely, earthquake would damage the spent fuel pool to the point of leaking. In order to assess the consequences that might result from a spent fuel pool leak, the study assumed seismic forces greater than the maximum earthquake reasonably expected to occur at the reference plant location. The NRC expects that the ground motion used in this study is more challenging for the spent fuel pool structure than that experienced at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant from the earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. That earthquake did not result in any spent fuel pool leaks. In the small likelihood that such an extreme earthquake caused a leak, the staff then analyzed how the spent fuel could overheat and potentially release radioactive material into the environment. Finally, the staff analyzed what the public health and environmental effects of a radiological release would be in the area surrounding the plant. This draft study’s results for the specific reference plant and earthquake analyzed are consistent with past studies’ conclusions that spent fuel pools are likely to withstand severe earthquakes without leaking. The draft study shows the likelihood of a radiological release from the spent fuel after the analyzed severe earthquake at the reference plant to be very low. The regulatory analysis for this study indicates that expediting movement of spent fuel from the pool does not provide a substantial safety enhancement for the reference plant. The NRC will use this study in a PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 broader regulatory analysis of the spent fuel pools at all U.S. operating nuclear reactors as part of its Japan LessonsLearned activities. The NRC continues to believe, based on this study and previous studies that spent fuel pools provide adequate protection of public health and safety. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of June, 2013. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Richard Lee, Chief, Fuel and Source Term Code Development Branch, Division of Systems Analysis, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. [FR Doc. 2013–15840 Filed 7–1–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2013–0001] Sunshine Act Meeting AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETINGS: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. DATE: Weeks of July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, August 5, 2013. PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. STATUS: Public and Closed. Week of July 1, 2013 There are no meetings scheduled for the week of July 1, 2013. Week of July 8, 2013—Tentative Tuesday, July 9, 2013 9:30 a.m. Briefing on Security Issues (Closed—Ex. 1). Wednesday, July 10, 2013 9:00 a.m. Briefing on NRC International Activities (Part 1) (Public Meeting) (Contact: Karen Henderson, 301–415–0202). This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address—www.nrc.gov. 10:30 a.m. Briefing on NRC International Activities (Part 2) (Closed—Ex. 1 & 9) (Contact: Karen Henderson, 301–415–0202) Thursday, July 11, 2013 9:30 a.m. Meeting with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) (Public Meeting) (Contact: Ed Hackett, 301–415–7360). This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address—www.nrc.gov. Week of July 15, 2013—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the week of July 15, 2013. E:\FR\FM\02JYN1.SGM 02JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39781-39782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15840]


=======================================================================
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0136]


Consequence Study of a Beyond-Design-Basis Earthquake Affecting 
the Spent Fuel Pool for a U.S. Mark I Boiling Water Reactor

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft report; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
draft report for public comment, titled Consequence Study of a Beyond-
Design-Basis Earthquake Affecting the Spent Fuel Pool for a U.S. Mark I 
Boiling Water Reactor (also referred to as the Spent Fuel Pool Study). 
The purpose of this study was to examine if faster removal of older, 
colder spent reactor fuel from pools to dry cask storage significantly 
reduces risks to public health and safety. Based on previous research 
showing earthquakes present the dominant risk for spent fuel pools, the 
draft study evaluated how a potential pool leakage from an unlikely 
severe earthquake might cause the used fuel to overheat and release 
radioactive material to the environment. This study provides publicly 
available consequence estimates of a hypothetical spent fuel pool 
accident initiated by a low likelihood seismic event at a specific 
reference plant. The study compares high-density and low-density spent 
fuel pool loading conditions and assesses the benefits of post-9/11 
mitigation measures. Past risk studies have shown that storage of spent 
fuel in a high-density configuration is safe and risk of a large 
release due to an accident is very low. This draft study's results are 
consistent with earlier research conclusions that spent fuel pools are 
robust structures that are likely to withstand severe earthquakes 
without leaking. The NRC continues to believe, based on this study and 
previous studies that spent fuel pools provide adequate protection of 
public health and safety. The study's results will help inform the 
Commission's evaluation of whether expedited movement of spent fuel 
from spent fuel pools to dry storage sooner than current practice 
provides a substantial increase in safety. The insights from this 
analysis will inform a broader regulatory analysis of the spent fuel 
pools at all U.S. operating nuclear reactors as part of the NRC's Japan 
Lessons-learned Tier 3 plan.

DATES: Submit comments by August 1, 2013. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC staff 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specific subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0136. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Algama, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-251-7940; email: Don.Algama@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0136 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses 
and is

[[Page 39782]]

publicly available, by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0136.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly-available documents online in the NRC 
Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced. The draft report is available electronically in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML13133A132.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2013-0136 in the subject line of your 
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make 
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove 
identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Discussion

    The draft report documents a consequence study that continues the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission's examination of the risks and 
consequences of postulated spent fuel pool accidents. The purpose of 
this study is to examine if faster removal of spent reactor fuel from 
pools to dry cask storage significantly reduces risks to public health 
and safety. Based on previous research showing earthquakes present the 
dominant risk for spent fuel pools, the draft study evaluated how a 
potential pool leakage from an unlikely severe earthquake might cause 
the used fuel to overheat and release radioactive material to the 
environment. A spent fuel pool's robust concrete structure and 
stainless steel liner keep more than 20 feet of water above the spent 
fuel stored within it ensuring ample cooling for the spent fuel and 
adequate radiation shielding for plant personnel. This study compared 
potential accident consequences from a pool nearly filled with spent 
fuel and a pool in which fuel that has cooled sufficiently has been 
removed at a selected U.S. Mark I boiling-water reactor spent fuel 
pool.
    The staff first evaluated whether a severe, though unlikely, 
earthquake would damage the spent fuel pool to the point of leaking. In 
order to assess the consequences that might result from a spent fuel 
pool leak, the study assumed seismic forces greater than the maximum 
earthquake reasonably expected to occur at the reference plant 
location. The NRC expects that the ground motion used in this study is 
more challenging for the spent fuel pool structure than that 
experienced at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant from the 
earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. That 
earthquake did not result in any spent fuel pool leaks. In the small 
likelihood that such an extreme earthquake caused a leak, the staff 
then analyzed how the spent fuel could overheat and potentially release 
radioactive material into the environment. Finally, the staff analyzed 
what the public health and environmental effects of a radiological 
release would be in the area surrounding the plant.
    This draft study's results for the specific reference plant and 
earthquake analyzed are consistent with past studies' conclusions that 
spent fuel pools are likely to withstand severe earthquakes without 
leaking. The draft study shows the likelihood of a radiological release 
from the spent fuel after the analyzed severe earthquake at the 
reference plant to be very low. The regulatory analysis for this study 
indicates that expediting movement of spent fuel from the pool does not 
provide a substantial safety enhancement for the reference plant. The 
NRC will use this study in a broader regulatory analysis of the spent 
fuel pools at all U.S. operating nuclear reactors as part of its Japan 
Lessons-Learned activities. The NRC continues to believe, based on this 
study and previous studies that spent fuel pools provide adequate 
protection of public health and safety.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of June, 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Richard Lee,
Chief, Fuel and Source Term Code Development Branch, Division of 
Systems Analysis, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-15840 Filed 7-1-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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