[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 28, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26507-26508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-13283]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Establishment of the Fee Policy for Acceptance of Foreign 
Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of establishment of the fee policy for acceptance of 
foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel.

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SUMMARY: This notice establishes the fee policy for receipt and 
management of spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors by the 
Department of Energy (DOE). DOE's foreign research reactor spent fuel 
acceptance policy covers aluminum-based and TRIGA (Training, Research, 
Isotope, General Atomics) spent fuel and target material containing 
uranium enriched in the United States. For high-income economy 
countries, the fee will be no higher than $4,500 per kilogram of total 
mass for aluminum based spent fuel containing highly enriched uranium 
(HEU) and TRIGA spent fuel, and no higher than $3,750 per kilogram of 
total mass for aluminum based spent fuel containing low enriched 
uranium (LEU). The cost of shipping the spent fuel to the United States 
from high-income economy countries is not included in the fee, and will 
be borne by the reactor operators. For other countries, the Department 
will pay the costs for shipping, receipt, and management.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: G. F. Cole, Director, Office of Spent 
Fuel Management (EM-67), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence 
Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20585, Telephone (301) 903-1450.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 13, 1996, the Department of Energy 
(DOE) issued the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy 
Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel (DOE/EIS-0218F 
of February 1996, the Final EIS). The ROD specifies that the United 
States will accept up to 19.2 MTHM (metric tonnes of heavy metal) of 
foreign research reactor spent fuel in approximately 22,700 separate 
elements and up to approximately an additional 0.6 MTHM of target 
material over a thirteen year period. All of this material contains 
uranium that was enriched in the United States.
    DOE specified in the ROD that the following spent fuel and target 
material types will be accepted under this policy:
    1. Spent nuclear fuel (HEU or LEU) from foreign research reactors 
operating on LEU fuel or in the process of converting to LEU fuel when 
the policy became effective.
    2. Spent nuclear fuel (HEU or LEU) from foreign research reactors 
that operated on HEU fuel when the policy became effective but that 
formally commit to convert to LEU fuel. Spent nuclear fuel will not be 
accepted from foreign research reactors that could convert to LEU fuel 
but whose operators or owners do not formally commit, prior to receipt 
of their spent fuel into the United States, to make the conversion. 
Similarly, target material containing uranium enriched in the United 
States will only be accepted if reactors wishing to ship such target 
material have formally committed to convert to the use of LEU targets, 
when such targets become available. The terms and commitments for 
conversion are discussed in the ROD.
    3. HEU spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors having 
lifetime cores, from foreign research reactors planning to shut down by 
a specific date while the policy is in effect, and from foreign 
research reactors for which a suitable LEU fuel is not available.
    4. HEU or LEU spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors 
that are already shut down.
    5. Unirradiated HEU or LEU fuel from eligible foreign research 
reactors will be accepted as spent nuclear fuel.

[[Page 26508]]

    As stated in the ROD, DOE will not accept LEU spent fuel from any 
individual foreign research reactor until the HEU spent fuel at that 
reactor has all been shipped, unless there are extenuating 
circumstances (e.g., deterioration of one or more LEU elements 
sufficient to cause a safety problem if acceptance were delayed). In 
addition, DOE will not accept spent fuel (HEU or LEU) from new foreign 
research reactors starting operation after the date of implementation 
of the policy.
    The ROD specifies that the United States will charge high-income-
economy countries a fee that will be published in a separate Federal 
Register Notice (this constitutes that notice). The ROD also specifies 
that DOE will bear the full cost of shipping and managing foreign 
research reactor spent fuel from other countries, including at-reactor 
preparation. The countries from which spent fuel would be accepted, and 
definition of whether or not they are considered to be high-income-
economy countries, are listed in the ROD and the Final EIS. The Final 
EIS also identifies the estimated number of spent nuclear fuel 
shipments from each country, and the estimated number of casks each 
country would ship.
    The fee will be no higher than $4,500 per kilogram of total mass 
(not heavy metal mass) for aluminum based spent fuel containing HEU and 
TRIGA spent fuel, and no higher than $3,750 per kilogram of total mass 
for aluminum based spent fuel containing LEU. Total mass includes, 
among other things, the mass of cladding, structural materials, the 
aluminum fuel matrix, overpack canning. The actual fee will be 
established in DOE's spent fuel acceptance contracts. These fees will 
be used to cover all aspects of receipt and management of the spent 
nuclear fuel by DOE, including geologic disposal. The cost of preparing 
the spent nuclear fuel for shipment to the United States (e.g., 
inspection, documentation, and canning, if necessary), and shipping the 
spent nuclear fuel to a DOE spent fuel management site in the the 
United States, is not included in the fee and is not an obligation of 
the United States. These costs will be borne by the individual reactor 
operators in high-income-economy countries. Fees are due and payable 
upon DOE acceptance of the spent nuclear fuel at the DOE management 
site.
    No fee is specified in this notice for acceptance of target 
material. This fee will be established separately at a later time.
    For spent fuel not covered by a valid, signed DOE acceptance 
contract, DOE reserves the right to modify the fee upward or downward 
at any time to respond to changed circumstances, including a change in 
the cost of managing the spent fuel in the United States.

    Issued at Washington, DC., on May 22, 1996.
Jill Lytle,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Nuclear Material and Facility 
Stabilization Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 96-13283 Filed 5-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P