Aiken County, SC (WFXG) -
The Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River
Operations Office (SR) is seeking public comment on the Draft Basis for Section 3116 Determination for Closure of H-Tank Farm
at the Savannah River Site (Draft HTF Section 3116 Basis Document).
The Draft HTF Section 3116 Basis Document concerns
tanks, ancillary structures and residual wastes at the H-Tank Farm (HTF), a
45-acre area containing 29 underground radioactive waste tanks at DOE's
Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina. The tanks store waste from, in part, the reprocessing
of used nuclear fuel. DOE is in the
process of cleaning, grouting the tanks and applicable ancillary structures and
closing HTF.
Under Section 3116 of the Ronald W. Reagan National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, the Secretary of Energy, in
consultation with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), may determine whether
certain wastes from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel meet the criteria in
Section 3116 and are not high level waste. The Draft HTF Section 3116 Basis Document demonstrates
that the Section 3116 criteria are satisfied for the cleaned and grouted tanks,
ancillary structures, and residuals at the time of planned HTF closure.
DOE will consult with the NRC and consider public
comments before the Secretary makes a determination under Section 3116. DOE must obtain approvals from the South Carolina
Department of Health and
Environmental Control and meet other
requirements to close HTF.
The public comment period on the Draft HTF 3116 Basis
Document extends through May 1, 2013. The
Department will hold one or more public meetings on this draft HTF Section 3116
Basis document; dates and locations will be published soon.
The Draft HTF Section 3116 Basis Document is available
on the DOE-SR website, under F and H Tank Farm Closure Documents, at http://sro.srs.gov/f_htankfarmsdocuments.htm.
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