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Important Dates
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2017
2018
Jan. 23-25:
Institute for Nuclear Materials Management Spent Fuel Seminar, Alexandria, VA
More information
Jan. 24-25: Tribal Radioactive Materials Committee Winter Meeting, Omaha, NE
April 16-19:
National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference, Seattle, WA
More information
June 4-7:
NTSF 2018 Annual Meeting, Omaha, NE
June 5:
MRMTC Spring 2018 Meeting, Omaha, NE
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NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION STAKEHOLDERS FORUM
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National Transportation Stakeholders Forum
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The NTSF Planning Committee continues to plan for next year's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on
June 4-7. The meeting will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Omaha Downtown and is being co-hosted by the Midwest and the Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (TRMTC). As noted in previous editions of the newsletter, the state regional group (SRG) meetings will be held on
June 5 and the TRMTC will meet on
June 4. Registration for the meeting will open at the end of January.
In NTSF ad hoc working group (AHWG) news, the Communications AHWG held its initial conference call last month and is in the process of having its work plan approved by NTSF chair Joanne Lorence (DOE-EM) and the NTSF Planning Committee. Heather Westra (Prairie Island Indian Community), Ellen Edge (DOE-EM), and Katelyn Tye (CSG Midwest) are the group's co-leads, and Kaci Studer (Indiana) and Aaron Kallunki (Minnesota) are the Midwest's representatives on the AHWG.
In NTSF webinar news, plans are underway for a mid-January webinar, which will recap DOE's Initial Site-Specific De-Inventory Reports on Humboldt Bay and Kewaunee. This is the latest in a popular series of webinars on the de-inventory reports, which covered the Big Rock Point, Connecticut Yankee, Maine Yankee, and Trojan nuclear plants. A notification will be sent to NTSF members when a date and time for the webinar are finalized.
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| FOCUS THIS MONTH |
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University of Chicago Celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the First Sustained Nuclear Reaction
On December 2, 1942, as World War II raged on, Enrico Fermi and a team of world-class physicists met at the University of Chicago to conduct a top-secret experiment as part of the Manhattan Project. According to the university's page commemorating this historical moment, the goal of the experiment was to initiate the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction -- what the university described as "a scientific leap that would have immense implications for the war and the world's future."
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This illustration, from the Chicago Historical Society, depicts the scene on Dec. 2, 1942, when scientists Enrico Fermi and his colleagues achieved the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
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The university commemorated the anniversary of this successful experiment with "Nuclear Reactions," a series of lectures on nuclear physics, energy, and engineering. One lecture, entitled "Projecting Risk into the Future: Failure of a Geologic Repository and the Sinking of the Titanic" featured Stanford University professor, and former Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board chairman, Rod Ewing. During his presentation, Ewing discussed the challenges surrounding nuclear waste management and questioned whether scientists had the right to be so confident that geologic disposal is the solution. He cautioned, for example, that both WIPP and Yucca Mountain are in natural resource-rich areas that could attract drilling activity years down the road. He notes in his lecture abstract that "the time-scales considered for the geologic disposal of radioactive waste place special demands on the analysis of how engineered and geologic systems might fail."
The University of Chicago commemorated the 75th anniversary with videos, art installations, and musical performances. In addition, the university's Physics Department shared photos and other content on the Manhattan Project. |
NUCLEAR NEWS
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NRC Preparing New Rules for Decommissioning
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on November 20, issued a regulatory basis document to support future rulemaking related to the decommissioning of nuclear reactors.
The document,
Regulatory Improvements for Power Reactors Transitioning to Decommissioning, notes that the "rulemaking would provide for an efficient decommissioning process; reduce the need for exemptions from existing regulations and license amendment requests; address other decommissioning issues deemed relevant by the NRC staff; and support the principles of good regulation, including openness, clarity, and reliability."
According to
Utility DIVE, the NRC expects to release the new decommissioning rules for public comment next year.
Thank you to Steve Maheras (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) for sharing the NRC's regulatory basis document.
DOE Submits Greater-Than-Class C Report to Congress
In November, DOE submitted to Congress a report on the
Alternatives for the Disposal of Greater-Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste. The completion of this report was required by statute prior to any final decision-making about how to dispose of DOE's Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) and GTCC-like waste.
According to the report's executive summary, the Department concluded that "disposal at generic commercial facilities and/or disposal in the WIPP geologic repository" is the preferred alternative for management of GTCC LLRW and GTCC-like waste. Congress would have to approve this disposal plan before DOE can begin implementation.
Happy Retirement to Jim Williams and Michael Wangler
On December 1, after years of involvement in radioactive materials transportation policy, Jim Williams officially retired from his position with the Western Interstate Energy Board (WIEB).
For the past several years, Jim had lent his expertise to WIEB's high-level radioactive waste program and served as staff lead to WIEB's High-Level Radioactive Waste Committee.
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Jim Williams (center) with WIEB HLRW Committee members Rich Baker (Arizona, left) and Ken Niles (Oregon, right) at the committee's October meeting.
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Jim was a regular attendee of the Midwest's meetings and was an active participant on the various NTSF ad hoc working groups and DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy Transportation Core Group. A lover of travel, Jim will no doubt spend his new "down time" traversing the globe. We wish Jim good luck and bon voyage as he starts this new chapter!
Best wishes, also, to Michael Wangler (DOE-EM), who has retired after many years with the federal government. As covered in the July edition of the Midwest's e-newsletter, Michael announced his pending retirement during the NTSF meeting in Pittsburgh, but made it official on November 30. Thank you to Michael for his leadership of the NTSF and for a lifetime of public service!
Thank you to Ken Niles and Rick Moore for sharing the photo of Jim at WIEB's fall meeting.
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Thank you for reading. Watch for the next edition to come out on January 4, 2018.
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Missed a newsletter? Past editions are
archived
on the Committee's webpage.
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Please do not reproduce or create new content from this material without the prior express written permission of CSG Midwest.
This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Numbers DE-NE0008604, DE-EM0004869, and DE-EM00002327.
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
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