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Nuclear Regulatory Commission: NRC Needs to Do More to Ensure that Power Plants Are Effectively Controlling Spent Nuclear Fuel

GAO-05-339 Published: Apr 08, 2005. Publicly Released: Apr 12, 2005.
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Highlights

Spent nuclear fuel--the used fuel periodically removed from reactors in nuclear power plants--is too inefficient to power a nuclear reaction, but is intensely radioactive and continues to generate heat for thousands of years. Potential health and safety implications make the control of spent nuclear fuel of great importance. The discovery, in 2004, that spent fuel rods were missing at the Vermont Yankee plant in Vermont generated public concern and questions about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) regulation and oversight of this material. GAO reviewed (1) plants' performance in controlling and accounting for their spent nuclear fuel, (2) the effectiveness of NRC's regulations and oversight of the plants' performance, and (3) NRC's actions to respond to plants' problems controlling their spent fuel.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Nuclear Regulatory Commission To improve the effectiveness of nuclear reactor licensees' material control and accounting programs for spent nuclear fuel, the NRC Commissioners should take action, in a timely manner, on establishing specific requirements for the control and accounting of loose spent fuel rods and rod segments and nuclear reactor licensees' conduct of their physical inventories.
Closed – Implemented
On December 10, 2008, NRC issued new inspection procedure 71130.11, "Material Control and Accounting." NRC has incorporated this procedure and its companion Significant Determination Process into the security reactor oversight process and includes information (1) inspectors collect at all sites under TI 2515/154 and (2) licensees report in response to NRC Bulletin 2005-01.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission To improve the effectiveness of nuclear reactor licensees' material control and accounting programs for spent nuclear fuel, the NRC Commissioners should take action, in a timely manner, on developing and implementing appropriate inspection procedures to verify compliance and assess the effectiveness of licensees' material control and accounting programs for spent fuel.
Closed – Implemented
In November 2003, NRC issued Temporary Instruction 2515/154, "Spent Fuel Material Control and Accounting at Nuclear Power Plants." Subsequently, NRC conducted detailed inspections of its material control and accounting programs at 73 nuclear facilities that found violations at 58 of the facilities ranging from Severity Level II to Severity Level IV. In April 2007, NRC incorporated material control and accounting into the security and safeguards baseline inspection program of its Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) for ensuring the safety of nuclear power facilities. NRC staff led an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) committee to revise standard N15.8, "Nuclear Material Control Systems for Nuclear Power Plants." The scope of the standard is to establish guidelines for the control and accounting of special nuclear material at nuclear power plants. ANSI approved the new standard in February 2009. NRC is reviewing the standard for endorsement through revision of Regulatory Guide 5.29, "Nuclear Material Control Systems for Nuclear Power Plants," and Regulatory Guide 5.49, "Internal Transfers of Special Nuclear Material."

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