NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA

No. 00-117 August 1, 2000

FINAL NRC SPENT FUEL CASK FABRICATION REGULATIONS

TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY, EFFICIENCY AND CONSISTENCY

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending its regulations for storage of spent fuel from

nuclear power plants to allow cask manufacturers to begin fabrication, at their own risk, under an

NRC-approved quality assurance program prior to issuance of an agency Certificate of Compliance.

The final amendments, contained in Part 72 of the Commission’s regulations, also state that

cask designs previously approved or currently under review cannot be challenged during a licensing

hearing. The final rule will also eliminate confusion concerning which regulations apply to various

types of licensees and certificate-holders.

NRC has two processes for approving spent fuel storage: (1) a specific license for an

independent spent fuel storage installation that requires the agency to conduct a detailed review of an

application to build and operate the installation site; and (2) a general license that allows a nuclear

power plant licensee to use storage casks previously approved by the NRC, without having a specific

license or a detailed review by the agency.

The NRC anticipates that it may receive applications for specific licenses for independent spent

fuel storage installations that propose using casks already approved by the agency for use under a

general license. Current regulations allow for the design of these previously approved casks to be rereviewed at a licensing hearing.

The final rule states, however, that if a specific license application for an independent spent fuel

storage installation incorporates information on the design of an NRC-approved spent fuel storage

cask, any public hearing held to consider the application will not include cask design issues previously

addressed or currently under review by the agency.

This change will eliminate the need for repetitious reviews by hearing boards. Members of the

public already will already have had the opportunity to comment on each cask design before approval

under a certificate because the NRC issues a Federal Register notice seeking comments before

deciding whether to incorporate an approved design into its regulations.

However, design interface issues between a referenced cask design and specific site

characteristics, or changes to an approved cask design, are required to be included in an application and

may be raised as potential issues in a licensing proceeding.
Regarding cask fabrication, current regulations prohibit a general licensee, its contractor and an

applicant seeking NRC approval of a cask design from beginning fabrication prior to the agency

issuing a certificate of compliance. By contrast, applicants seeking a specific license for an

independent fuel storage installation are permitted to begin fabrication before a license is issued. The

revised regulations eliminate these differences.

With the change in regulations, applicants who choose early fabrication will be at risk, and

would have to bear the costs of any actions needed to conform to the conditions within an NRC

Certificate of Compliance.

A proposed rule on this subject was issued in The Federal Register for public comment on

November 3, 1999. The Commission received eight comment letters on the proposed rule, including

those from five NRC licensees, one applicant for an NRC license, one NRC Part 72 certificate holder,

and the Nuclear Energy Institute representing the industry. Changes made as a result of the comments

received are discussed in a Federal Register notice, to be issued shortly.

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