NRC to discuss draft study in White Plains

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold one of its nationwide meetings in White Plains next month to discuss the long-term storage of used nuclear fuel, said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan.

The public meeting will examine a draft study the NRC conducted on the environmental impacts of temporarily storing nuclear fuel at power plants across the country including Indian Point in Buchanan.

The commission concluded that placing used nuclear fuel at reactors for the next 60 years is a feasible solution. This response, known as the waste confidence rule, was the agency’s guarantee that storing used fuel at reactors was safe. However New York state government officials and various other groups had a problem with the idea, so the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued a remand asking the NRC to review its findings. Shortly thereafter, a five-member panel of independently elected judges ordered the NRC to conduct new assessments, which led to the draft study.

“The waste confidence rule  is addressed in this draft study,” Sheehan said. “Instead of just saying that spent fuel can be stored for 60 years, it looks at a longer-term time frame of 160 years and an indefinite time frame. It”™ll go out for public comment, and we”™ll get feedback from all across the country and determine whether other changes are warranted.”

An important factor to consider when keeping spent fuel at reactor sites is to make sure it has the right encasement. Although Indian Point has spent-fuel pools and dry casks, there have been complaints that the pools are getting too full and that the dry casks have potential to burst. The NRC plans to develop newer and technologically improved casks to better store the nuclear waste for longer periods of time.

Westchester County residents will have an opportunity to comment and ask questions about how used fuel will be stored at Indian Point both at the public meetings and via webinars.

The NRC’s public hearing in White Plains is scheduled for Sept. 17. The study can be found online at www.regulations.gov by searching for Docket ID NRC-2012-0246.