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. 01-108 September 7, 2001

NRC REVISES REGULATIONS FOR A POSSIBLE LICENSING DECISION

ON A POTENTIAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE REPOSITORY IN NEVADA

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is revising its regulations to add site-specific criteria for

use in a possible licensing decision on a potential geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for

the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The Commission could be called

upon to make a licensing decision on Yucca Mountain if the decision to proceed is made by the

Department of Energy, the President, and the Congress.

The criteria will be contained in a new Part 63 of the Commissionís regulations. The final

revision conforms to the Environmental Protection Agencyís (EPA) Yucca Mountain final standard that

was issued on June 13.

A different part of the Commissionís regulations, Part 60, issued in 1983, contains generic

criteria for licensing the disposal of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste in any geologic

repository. The NRC is modifying that regulation to make clear that it no longer applies to a repository

at Yucca Mountain and that only Part 63 applies at Yucca Mountain.

The changes reflect the Commissionís overall philosophy of using risk-information in its

regulations and respond to the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which directed the NRC to modify its

technical requirements and criteria to be consistent with health and safety standards to be issued by EPA

specifically for Yucca Mountain. 

The new regulations specify that the repository system at Yucca Mountain must include both

natural and engineered barriers to prevent and/or mitigate the release of radioactive material. They also

address: licensing criteria; participation in license reviews by the State, affected local governments, and

Indian Tribes; recordkeeping and reporting; monitoring and testing programs; performance

confirmation; quality assurance; personnel training and certification; and emergency planning.

The regulations direct that, after high-level waste has been placed in the repository and the

facility has been permanently closed, the repository system should ensure protection of the public in a

manner consistent with the EPA standards. The standards provide that the engineered barrier system

should be designed to work in combination with natural barriers so that, for 10,000 years following
disposal, the expected radiation dose to an individual would not exceed 15 millirems total effective

dose equivalent per year. Consistent with EPA policy, a separate standard is also established for

groundwater at 4 millirems per year to the whole body or any organ. (The average individual exposure

from natural background radiation in the United States is approximately 300 millirems per year total

effective dose equivalent.)

A proposed rule on this subject was issued for public comment on February 22, 1999. The

NRC held public meetings to discuss the proposal in Las Vegas, Beatty, Amargosa Valley and Caliente,

Nevada. Comments received at those meetings were considered along with written comments in

developing the final rule. The final rule includes a response to the comments.

Although the Commission affirmed this final rule today, under the Paperwork Reduction Act,

the information collection requirements contained in the rule must be submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB). After OMB approval is obtained -- a process that will take at least 30

days-- the Commission will publish the final rule in the Federal Register and the rule will become

effective 30 days thereafter. Thus, the Commission expects that this rule will become effective towards

the end of the calender year.

The Commission paper on the rule (SECY-01-0127) and the voting record on the paper will be

available shortly at: www.nrc.gov on NRCís web page.

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