Savannah River Site Spent Nuclear Fuel Management Final Environmental Impact Statement

Technical Report · Fri Apr 14 04:00:00 EDT 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/769549· OSTI ID:769549

The proposed DOE action considered in this environmental impact statement (EIS) is to implement appropriate processes for the safe and efficient management of spent nuclear fuel and targets at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken County, South Carolina, including placing these materials in forms suitable for ultimate disposition. Options to treat, package, and store this material are discussed. The material included in this EIS consists of approximately 68 metric tons heavy metal (MTHM) of spent nuclear fuel 20 MTHM of aluminum-based spent nuclear fuel at SRS, as much as 28 MTHM of aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel from foreign and domestic research reactors to be shipped to SRS through 2035, and 20 MTHM of stainless-steel or zirconium-clad spent nuclear fuel and some Americium/Curium Targets stored at SRS. Alternatives considered in this EIS encompass a range of new packaging, new processing, and conventional processing technologies, as well as the No Action Alternative. A preferred alternative is identified in which DOE would prepare about 97% by volume (about 60% by mass) of the aluminum-based fuel for disposition using a melt and dilute treatment process. The remaining 3% by volume (about 40% by mass) would be managed using chemical separation. Impacts are assessed primarily in the areas of water resources, air resources, public and worker health, waste management, socioeconomic, and cumulative impacts.

• Research Organization: U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations Office (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42) (US)
• OSTI ID: 769549
• Report Number(s): DOE/EIS-0279
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
AIKEN
AIR
EIS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS
MANAGEMENT
METRICS
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUMERICAL DATA
PACKAGING
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RESEARCH REACTORS
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SC
SPENT FUELS
TARGETS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WATER RESOURCES