The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum, Inc. (LLW Forum) has organized Panel 19 for the Waste Management 2017 Conference titled, Hot Topics and Emerging Issues in US Commercial Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management, that will be held in Room 104AB from 1:25 – 3:05 p.m. on Monday afternoon—March 6, 2017.

Later the same afternoon, the Southeast Compact Commission for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management will present J. Scott Kirk with the 2017 Richard S. Hodes, M.D. Honor Lecture Award.  The award presentation will begin at 3:15 p.m. in Room 105C.

Following the conclusion of the conference, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will host a public meeting on the agency’s low-level radioactive waste regulatory program.  The NRC public meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Salon 8 at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel on March 10, 2017.  The hotel is located at 50 East Adams Street in Phoenix, Arizona.  There is no registration fee to attend and participate in the NRC public meeting.

Interested stakeholders are invited and encouraged to attend the above-referenced panel, award presentation and public meeting.  The Waste Management 2017 Conference will be held at the convention center in Phoenix, Arizona from March 5-9, 2017.

LLW Forum Panel Overview

will focus on emerging issues in commercial low-level radioactive waste management in the United States from the perspective of representatives of the Panel 19 LLW Forum.  State, federal and industry officials will share their views on a variety of timely and significant topics including

•   alternative disposal pathways for very low activity waste;

•   operator perspectives from the Waste Control Specialists (WCS) facility in Texas including a proposals to license a disposal cell for Greater-than-Class C (GTCC), GTCC-like and Transuranic waste and an application to construct and operate a facility to store spent nuclear fuel at the Waste Control Specialists (WCS) facility in Texas;

•   the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report examining enhanced controls and continuing vulnerabilities of dangerous radioactive materials; and,

•   NRC initiatives including the proposed final rule to amend 10 CFR Part 61, Licensing Requirements for Land Disposal of Radioactive Waste.

Scheduled speakers for Panel 16 include

•   Lisa Edwards, Senior Program Manager at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI);

•   Betsy Madru, Vice-President of Government Affairs at WCS;

•   Ned Woodward, Assistant Director at GAO; and,

•   John Tappert, Director of the Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs at the NRC.

The panel will be co-chaired by LLW Forum Chair Leonard Slosky and LLW Forum Executive Director Todd Lovinger.

For additional information about the LLW Forum or Waste Management Panel 19, please contact Todd D. Lovinger, the LLW Forum’s Executive Director, at (754) 779-7551 or at LLWForumInc@aol.com.

Hodes Award Overview

The Hodes Award recognizes an individual, company, or organization that has contributed in an innovative way to improving the technology, policy, or practices of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) management in the United States.

1. Scott Kirk is being recognized for his innovative efforts in solving low-level radioactive waste management challenges in the United States by:

•   conceiving and perfecting the idea of placing very low activity low-level radioactive waste in a near-surface landfill based on a performance assessment that showed the predicted dose did not exceed regulatory limits;

•   proposing a near-surface disposal option for GTCC waste that is currently under consideration by the NRC and the State of Texas; and,

•   submitting an application to the NRC to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.

In addition, the Southeast Compact Commission commends Kirk for his contribution to the professionalism of health physics and radiation safety programs at the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact’s regional disposal facility in Andrews County, Texas.

Kirk’s efforts have improved radiation health and safety and provided additional economical and safe disposal and storage options for low-level radioactive waste, GTCC waste, and spent reactor fuel.  His creative work clearly exemplifies the spirit and commitment that the Hodes Award is intended to recognize.

Kirk has more than 25 years of experience in the nuclear industry and recently joined BWX Technologies, Inc. as Director of Regulatory Affairs.  In this capacity, Kirk provides guidance on a variety of regulatory affairs matters, focusing on radioactive waste management.  Prior to his employment with BWXT, Kirk served as the Vice President of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs at WCS where he significantly contributed to the successful licensing of the first new regional disposal facility to open in the past 40 years in Andrews County, Texas.

Kirk was also employed by Nuclear Fuel Services (a BWXT Company) and served as the principle liaison with the NRC for over 10 years.  He is a certified Health Physicist and an active member of the Health Physics Society (HPS), serving as a subject matter expert on issues pertaining to radioactive waste management and disused sealed sources.  Kirk holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology from Appalachian State University and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Health from East Tennessee State University.

Nominations for the 2018 Hodes Honor Lecture Award are now being accepted.  The deadline for submittal of nominations is August 15, 2017.   Details can be found on the Southeast Compact Commission website at www.secompact.org or you may contact Ted Buckner, the Commission’s Executive Director, at tedb@secompact.org.

NRC Public Meeting Overview

The purpose of the NRC public meeting is to discuss the status of the 10 CFR Part 61 site-specific rulemaking; financial assurance rulemaking; low-activity waste (LAW) scoping study; and, programmatic assessment of the low-level waste regulatory program.

• The 10 CFR Part 61 site-specific rulemaking addresses the disposal of large quantities of depleted uranium, blended waste and unanalyzed waste streams by requiring a site-specific performance assessment and allowing for the disposal of waste via the use of waste acceptance criteria, as an alternative to the waste classification tables in 10 CFR Part 61.55. (For additional information, please see LLW Notes, September/October 2016, pp. 1, 32-38.)  If the Commission has not yet issued the 10 CFR Part 61 final rule, then the NRC staff will discuss the content of the rulemaking as proposed to the Commission by NRC staff.

•   The NRC is considering performing a LAW scoping study, which will include coordinating with other agencies on consistency in regulating LAW, determining the impact of LAW disposal from radiological dispersal devices and developing regulatory options that would define the conditions under which LAW, including mixed waste, could be disposed of in a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C hazardous waste facility.

• To set the future direction for the NRC low-level waste regulatory program in the next several years, the NRC is in the process of updating the Strategic Assessment of the LLW Regulatory Program with a Programmatic Assessment of the LLW Regulatory Program to identify and prioritize tasks that the NRC can undertake to ensure a stable, reliable and adaptable regulatory framework for effective low-level radioactive waste management, while also considering future needs and changes that may occur in the nation’s commercial low-level radioactive waste management system.

All interested stakeholders are welcome to attend the NRC public meeting including waste generators, processors, disposal facility operators, states, low-level radioactive waste compacts, advocacy groups and members of the public.

Although the NRC public meeting is not part of the Waste Management conference, it is being held the day after the annual symposium ends to facilitate attendance and participation by members of the waste industry and other stakeholders that have an interest in the subjects of the NRC public meeting.

For additional information, please contact Robert Gladney of the NRC at (301) 415-1022 or at Robert.Gladney@nrc.gov.

Background

The Waste Management Conference takes place annually and is presented by Waste Management Symposia—a non-profit organization dedicated to education and opportunity in waste management.

The international conference was founded to provide a forum for discussing and seeking cost-effective and environmentally responsible solutions to the safe management and disposition of radioactive waste and radioactive materials.

This year’s conference will include over 600 presentations covering all aspects of radioactive waste management, packaging and transportation, facility siting, site remediation, Fukushima progress and other related topics.

Additional information on the Waste Management 2017 Conference can be found at www.wmsym.org or by contacting the Waste Management office at (480) 557-0263.