NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 09-138 August 20, 2009

NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC WORKSHOPS IN MARYLAND AND UTAH ON 

SAFE DISPOSAL OF DEPLETED URANIUM AND OTHER UNIQUE WASTE STREAMS 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct two public workshops in September to 

solicit public views on major issues for new regulations on shallow-land disposal of unique 

radioactive wastes, including significant quantities of depleted uranium. 

 The first workshop will be held Sept. 2-3 at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda, One Bethesda 

Metro Center, 7400 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, Md. The second workshop will be held Sept. 23-24 

in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the Salt Lake City Marriott University Park, 480 Wakara Way. Both 

workshops will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. 

 The Commission directed the agency staff March 18 to initiate a rulemaking to specify a 

requirement for a site-specific analysis for the disposal of large quantities of depleted uranium, and 

other unique waste streams, such as reprocessing wastes and the technical requirements for such an 

analysis. The Commission also directed the staff to develop a guidance document for public 

comment that outlines the parameters and assumptions to be used in the site-specific analyses. The 

Commission said the staff should conduct a public workshop to discuss issues associated with 

disposal of depleted uranium and other unique waste streams, potential issues to be considered in 

rulemaking, and technical parameters of concern in the analysis so that informed decisions can be 

made in the interim before the rulemaking is final. 

 Earlier this summer, the NRC requested public comment on topics to be addressed at the 

workshops and the subsequent rulemaking. The agendas for the workshops are available on the NRC 

Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/conferences.html. Public comments on 

these topics and major issues related to the future rulemaking will be accepted at the workshops and 

through Oct. 30. 

 People wishing to attend the workshops in Maryland or Utah are encouraged to notify the 

NRC in advance by contacting Priya Yadav, at (301) 415-6667, or by e-mail at 

Priya.Yadav@nrc.gov, or Karen Pinkston, at (301) 415-3650, or by e-mail Karen.Pinkston@nrc.gov. 
 Public comments may be submitted to Chief, Rulemaking and Directives Branch, Division of 

Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop 

TWB 5B01M, Washington, D.C., 20555-0001, or by fax at (301) 492-3446. In addition, comments 

may be submitted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov using docket ID NRC-2009-0257. 

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