The Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC) would like to welcome and introduce two newcomers. First, Melissa Shahzadeh (pictured left) has joined The Council of State Governments (CSG) Midwest as a part-time policy analyst and will be staffing the MRMTC. Joining us from New Mexico, Melissa is an environmental scientist with extensive consulting experience including for the petroleum extraction industry in Kurdistan and the waste-to-energy industry in North America. In addition to her work with CSG Midwest, she will continue to manage the energy program of the New Mexico Army National Guard. Though she was born in Michigan and raised all over the world, Melissa has called Santa Fe, NM, home for the last 16 years, where she lives with her husband who is a professor at a local liberal arts college.

Melissa will start off by maintaining the state and federal legislative trackers and writing this monthly newsletter (starting with the next edition). She will take on more tasks and projects as she becomes more familiar with the project and the committee. Those traveling to St. Louis for the 2023 Annual Meeting of the National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF) will have the chance to meet Melissa there. In the meantime, and for those not attending the NTSF meeting, please join us in welcoming her to the team!

Second, Sen. Ram Villivalam (Illinois) (pictured right) has accepted the Illinois Senate's recommendation to join the MRMTC. Sen. Villivalam was born and raised on the northwest side of Chicago after his parents immigrated to the U.S. from India in the 1970s. He is incredibly proud to be the first Asian American elected to the Illinois State Senate and the first Indian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly. Sen. Villivalam is currently the Chair of the Transportation Committee and also sits on the Energy and Public Utilities Committee. He lives with his wife and two sons in the North Mayfair neighborhood in the City of Chicago. Welcome Sen. Villivalam!

In other regional news, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program (TEPP) trained 41 responders in South Dakota in February. From February 21 - 23, a Modular Emergency Response Radiological Transportation Training (MERRTT) Train the Trainer (TTT) course and a Technician MERRTT (TMERRTT) course were taught in Rapid City, SD. Of the 41 responders trained, ten requested continuing education hours (CEH) credit. If you are interested in TEPP training for yourself, or want to organize TEPP training in your state, visit https://teppinfo.com/ or contact the Midwest regional training coordinator, Mark Linsley.

Finally, on March 7 - 8, MRMTC Co-Chair Rodney Pitchford (Illinois), Immediate Past Chair Mike Snee (Ohio), and staffer Mitch Arvidson (CSG Midwest) traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's (NE) Transportation Core Group Meeting. Attendees heard updates from the Office of Integrated Waste Management (IWM), a presentation on the transportation aspects of microreactors, the relaunch of the CURIE resource portal, and advanced reactor topics such as Dow's project with X-energy to build and demonstrate the first grid-scale advanced reactors at an industrial site.

The long-awaited return of America's most popular program happened last month! No, we're not talking about the final season of Succession. We're talking about NTSF webinars! On March 23, the NTSF hosted the "UNF ST&DARDS and Criticality Considerations in SNF Storage" webinar. Presented by Kaushik Banerjee, Advisor at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Drew Barto, Nuclear Engineer at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), this webinar introduced attendees to the Used Nuclear Fuel-Storage, Transportation & Disposal Resource and Data System, or UNF-ST&DARDS. This is a comprehensive integrated data and analysis tool being developed for DOE-NE's spent fuel and waste disposition program. If you missed the live broadcast of this webinar, you can find the recording of it, and all other NTSF webinars, at https://www.ntsf.info/webinars.

The NTSF's next webinar will be on April 25 at 12 PM Central Time. "Harborview's Breached Cs-137 Source: Packaging and Transportation" will feature speakers from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the DOE Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO), and the NRC. On May 30, 2019, at the University of Washington Harborview Research and Training Facility in Seattle, a Cesium-137 source used in an irradiator that was being removed for disposal was breached, leading to a contamination event. Once the dust from the event had settled, the source still had to be disposed of, but with a new plan for its packaging and transportation due to the breach. This webinar will tell the story of this new packaging and transportation plan. If you are not subscribed to the NTSF Mailing List, you can do so here.

In other NTSF news, the NTSF Planning Committee continues to plug away at the planning and execution of the 2023 Annual Meeting of the NTSF. Planning Committee meetings were held on March 14 and April 3 with the next happening on the week of April 17. Meeting organizers recently had conversations with staff at both the Weldon Spring Site and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The Weldon Spring Site will host a tour for NTSF attendees that will cover the history of the site, examine the museum-like interpretive center, and explore the disposal cell pyramid and restored native prairie. Scientists at ANL recently held a dry run of what will be their live demonstration of the ARG-US Traveler remote monitoring system. You can only experience this tour and live demonstration by registering for the meeting, so register now!

From DOE's new report described below, this figure depts shutdown reactor sites with SNF in storage in 2050 if waste acceptance is deferred

To Build, or Not To Build, That Is the CISF Question

All over America, it is being debated whether or not consolidated interim storage facilities (CISF) of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) should be built (see "New Mexico Interim Storage Updates" below). However, this debate is not new and the question of how interim storage fits into an integrated SNF management system has been pondered ever since the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA). Because this debate has raged for several decades, many reports and studies have already been done to analyze this question. In a recent report, DOE has done a literary review to summarize the advantages and disadvantages of CISFs identified in the past. This report was released in February with the disclaimer that it doesn't contain any new analysis or conclusions and does not reflect the views or endorsements of DOE.

"Summary of Consolidated Interim Storage Advantages and Disadvantages from an Integrated Systems Perspective from Prior Reports and Studies," analyzes past reports from various perspectives, including technical, regulatory, environmental, and economic. Some of the associated advantages include reducing the need for on-site storage at individual reactor sites, facilitating the full decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and reducing transportation costs by consolidated SNF at a limited number of CISFs. The report also notes that CISFs could provide additional benefits, such as increased security and easier monitoring of SNF.

However, several disadvantages were identified as well. One of the major challenges is selecting a suitable location for one or more CISFs, which requires extensive stakeholder engagement and regulatory approval. The report also notes that there could be technical challenges associated with the design, construction, and operation of CISFs, including the need for long-term monitoring and maintenance.

The literature review emphasizes the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to evaluating CISFs, taking into account various factors. It also notes that any decision regarding CISFs should consider the broader context of nuclear waste management, including the potential for future developments in recycling, reprocessing, or other waste disposal technologies.

Overall, the report concludes that one or more CISFs could provide significant benefits in terms of reducing on-site storage and transportation costs, but careful consideration should be give to the technical, regulatory, environmental, and economic factors involved in its implementation. Finally, the summary emphasizes the importance of stakeholder engagement, transparency, and regulatory oversight in the decision-making process.

Nuclear News

Minnesota Nuke Seeks Permission to Stay Open Amidst Radioactive Leak

The NRC has accepted Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant's subsequent license renewal application, which if approved, would allow the plant to operate for an additional 20 years beyond its current expiration date in 2030. The application was submitted by Xcel Energy, which owns and operates the plant in Minnesota, about 38 miles northwest of Minneapolis. The NRC will conduct a thorough review process, including public hearing and opportunities for public comment, before making a decision on the license renewal application.

World Nuclear News has details on the application.

A possible complication of this review is two incidents that occurred at the plant in February 2022 and November 2022. Around 1,000 and 400,000 gallons of tritium-contaminated water were found leaking from water storage tanks respectively. Xcel Energy decided to power down the plant in December 2022 to make permanent repairs to the tanks, with the plant remaining offline for several months. Assurances have been made that all leaked water remained within the sites containment zone and has not reached the nearby Mississippi River.

Both Xcel Energy and the NRC conducted investigations into the incidents and reassured the public that there was no risk to public health or safety. A large fish kill near the plant has been attributed to the water temperature change resulting from the plant's shutdown. As of March 2023, Xcel announced that the leak at the plant had been repaired and operations would restart this week.

CBS Minnesota, MPR News, and AP have coverage of the leaks.

Two New Federal Reports Shine Light on East Palestine

In late February, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) published reports with details on the February 3 Norfolk Southern Railway derailment and subsequent fire of a train that included 20 cars of combustible liquids, flammable liquids, and flammable gas. While the reports are preliminary and investigations are ongoing, the NTSB says the derailment was caused by a broken rail joint.

The reports detail some potential health and environmental impacts of the derailment. For example, hydrochloric acid is a corrosive material that can cause respiratory irritation, skin burns, and eye damage if inhaled or exposed to the skin or eyes. Sodium hydroxide is a caustic substance that can cause similar health effects. And styrene monomer is a hazardous substance that can cause respiratory irritation, skin irritation, and central nervous system depression.

In addition to the NTSB launching an investigation, the following agencies were involved in the response efforts:

• The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) dispatched a team of investigators to the scene of the incident to assist with the investigation and ensure compliance with federal regulations.
• The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) provided technical assistance and oversight to ensure the safe handling and transport of hazardous materials involved in the incident.
• The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) conducted air and water quality monitoring in the surrounding area to assess potential health and environmental impacts.
• The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) and local law enforcement agencies assisted with traffic control and security at the scene of the incident.
• The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) assisted with the cleanup of the derailment site and the restoration of the affected rail line.

Finally, the CRS report describes actions that Congress and the U.S. DOT can undertake. It says that Congress could allocate additional funds to the FRA, that PHMSA could revise regulations, that Congress could allocate funds to maintain and improve rail infrastructure, that Congress could provide more funding for local first responders' emergency response training and equipment, and that DOT could conduct further research and analysis.

Thank you to Steve Maheras for sharing these reports.

New Mexico Interim Storage Updates

It has been a busy couple of months in regards to New Mexico's fight against two proposed SNF CISFs. First, in a February 10 ruling, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the state of New Mexico's lawsuit opposing Interim Storage Partners' (ISP) proposed site in Andrews, TX. The court found that the state didn't have standing to sue because the state had neither participated in the licensing proceedings nor qualified as an aggrieved party.

Then, on March 17, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed SB 53, which requires the state to approve any storage of high-level radioactive waste in the state. Additionally, the bill only allows the state to approve such storage if a permanent national repository is in operation. There is much debate as to whether or not New Mexico has the authority to enforce the law.

Finally, on March 20, the NRC announced that it was delaying its decision on whether to license Holtec International's proposed site in southeastern New Mexico for at least two more months due to "unforeseen resource constraints." The NRC had been expected to issue a final safety evaluation report, along with its licensing decision, by the end of March.

The NM Political Report and Nuclear Newswire have more details.

Minnesota's Monticello Nuclear Generating Station, simultaneously seeking a 20 year license extension and dealing with a radioactive water leak.