[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7180-7181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3008]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Additional Public Meeting and Request for Comment on a 
Draft Outline for a Technical Study Concerning the National Ignition 
Facility and the Issue of Nonproliferation

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of additional public meeting and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) held a workshop on September 8, 
1994, to begin a dialogue with the public concerning issues arising 
from building and operating the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Two 
public meetings held on January 24, 1995, in Oakland, CA, and on 
January 30, 1995, in Washington, DC, continued this dialogue, focusing 
on a draft outline for a technical study that DOE is writing concerning 
the NIF and the issue of nonproliferation. Today's notice is to 
announce that DOE is adding an additional public meeting in Livermore, 
CA, on the draft outline for the study and extending the written 
comment period. DOE is requesting both oral and written comments on the 
outline for the technical study.

DATES: Written comments (11 copies) are requested to be received by DOE 
on or before March 16, 1995. Oral views and data may be presented at an 
additional public meeting to be held in Livermore, CA, on March 9, 
1995, beginning at 1:30 p.m. and concluding at 9:00 p.m. with a break 
for dinner from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The length of each oral presentation is 
limited to 10 minutes.

ADDRESSES: All written comments (11 copies) and requests to speak at 
the public meeting should be addressed to U.S. Department of Energy, 
NN-40, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 20585, (202) 586-
3012. In the event any person wishing to submit a written comment 
cannot provide eleven copies, alternate arrangements can be made in 
advance by calling the phone number referenced above.
    The public meeting be held at the following location: Research 
Drive Conference Center, Room One, 2140 Research Drive, Livermore, CA.
    Copies of the public meeting transcripts and written comments 
received may be read and photocopied at DOE Freedom of Information 
Reading Room, U.S. Department of Energy, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 20585, (202) 586-6020, between the hours of 
9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday except Federal holidays. 
These documents may also be read during the same hours at DOE Oakland 
Operations Office, Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street, Room 1070N (10th 
Floor), Oakland, CA, 94612 (510) 637-1762.
    For further information concerning public participation, see the 
``Opportunity For Public Comment'' section of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NIF and its potential impact on the 
nonproliferation of nuclear weapons was an issue which was raised at 
the September 8, 1994, NIF public workshop held in Washington, DC. As a 
result of this meeting, DOE has prepared an outline for a technical 
study of this issue. The purpose of the public meetings is to seek the 
comments of the public on the outline for the technical study and to 
ensure that the issues the Department plans to address in this study 
are comprehensive. As such, DOE is soliciting the public to provide 
oral statements concerning the outline at public meetings and/or to 
provide written comments. Addresses, dates and times are provided at 
the beginning of this notice.

Draft Outline

    The working title that DOE is using is, ``The National Ignition 
Facility and its Potential Impact on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear 
Weapons.''
    The outline that DOE is proposing to use for the technical study 
is:

I. Introduction

<bullet> Thermonuclear weapons
    --fusion secondaries
<bullet> Controlled thermonuclear reactions
    --inertially-confined fusion
    --ignition and burn

II. The National Ignition Facility

<bullet> Overview
<bullet> How NIF differs from
    --magnetic confinement
    --its predecessors, NOVA, etc., and similar facilities in the 
U.S. and other countries

III. Fusion Science and High-Energy-Density Physics

<bullet> What important science can be learned at NIF?
<bullet> How is it learned?
<bullet> What may NIF do that couldn't be done before?
<bullet> What do scientists want to do?
    --how does this differ from nuclear weapons science?

IV. Horizontal Proliferation

<bullet> What could proliferators learn by
    --access to NIF or comparable facilities?
    --access to unclassified NIF data and reports?
<bullet> What could proliferators do with this information?
<bullet> How can this information be kept from proliferators?
    --classification/declassification issues
    --access/experimental program control [[Page 7181]] 
<bullet> Alternate paths to the same or equivalent information (or 
what could/could not be done without this kind of information?)
<bullet> Other country plans for ICC

V. Vertical Proliferation

<bullet> What could U.S. weapons designers do with NIF data?
    --impact on advanced designs
    --ability to address stockpile problems
<bullet> Plans for ICF research in other nuclear weapons states
Opportunity for Public Comment

A. Written Comment Procedures

    Interested persons and organizations are invited to participate by 
submitting data and views with respect to the proposed outline and 
issues addressed by the technical study.
    Written comments (11 copies) should be identified on the envelope 
and on the documents themselves with the designation ``NIF & 
Nonproliferation'' and should be received by the date specified at the 
beginning of this notice.

B. Public Meeting Procedures

    DOE will hold an additional public meeting on the outline and 
issues addressed above. The additional public meeting will be held on 
the date and at the location indicated at the beginning of this notice. 
A request to speak at the public meeting should be addressed to the 
address or phone number indicated at the beginning of this notice. The 
person should provide a phone number where he or she may be contacted 
during the day. Persons will be notified as to the approximate time 
they will be speaking. The length of each presentation will be limited 
to 10 minutes or based on the number of persons requesting an 
opportunity to speak.
    A DOE official will preside at the public meeting. The additional 
public meeting will be another opportunity for the public to provide 
DOE with its comments concerning the outline and issues to be addressed 
by the technical study. A transcript of these meetings will be made and 
will be retained by DOE and made available for inspection at DOE 
Freedom of Information Reading Room and DOE Oakland Operations Office 
at the address indicated at the beginning of this notice.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 1, 1995.
Kenneth N. Luongo,
Director, Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation.
[FR Doc. 95-3008 Filed 2-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-M