2 of 11

State and Tribal Escort Policies and Implementation

Canadian Spent Nuclear Fuel Removal - Experience

NTSF Annual Meeting: 4^th & 5^th June 2024

Kiran Karanth

Program Manager, Fuel Receipt Programs

Savannah River Site (SRS)

3 of 11

Background – Canadian HEU Minimization

In support of our Nuclear Security Summit commitments, M³ is coordinated with many countries, including Canada, to reduce HEU inventories by returning material to the United States.

Canadian research reactor spent fuel from Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario was shipped to the Savannah River Site located in Aiken, South Carolina.
Dedicated trucks with no other cargo. Security provided by each state’s Police/Highway Patrol.
Removal Campaigns

NRU/NRX fuel shipment campaign 2015-19.
Target Residue Material (TRM) 2017-20
Gentiliy-1 2022-23

NAC-LWT

4 of 11

Shipping Cask/ Package

NAC-LWT Type-B Radiological Package

Cask conforms to U.S., IAEA & Canadian standards.
The NRC reviewed the cask design met all U.S. regulations for transporting each type of material and issued a Certificate of Compliance (CoC).
A U.S. Certificate of Competent Authority (CoCA) was issued by the U.S. DOT to allow international use.
The Canadian Competent Authority, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), performed its own review of the cask and its inserts and issued a Canadian CoCA.

5 of 11

Routes

Two NRC approved routes from the Canadian/U.S. border to South Carolina (traversing NY, PA, MD, WV, VA, NC, SC,GA,SC).
49 CFR § 397.101 - DOT requires that the transportation of a highway route controlled quantity of Class 7 (radioactive) material follow a preferred route. This is an Interstate System highway for which an alternative route has not been designated by a state routing agency.

Route 231 via

Fort Erie/Buffalo

Quebec
Ontario
New York
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
South Carolina

Route 246 via

Alexandria

Quebec
Ontario
New York
Pennsylvania
Maryland
West Virginia
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
South Carolina

6 of 11

Shipment Coordination - General

The Remove Program could not perform its function without the close communication and cooperation with Tribal, State and Federal partners and their coordinating representatives.
M³ has been closely working with the Council of State Governments - Eastern Regional Conference and the Southern States Energy Board. Through DOE’s National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF), to meet with our Tribal and State partners and share information about these campaigns.
The Remove Program has been funding Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program (TEPP) training for the stakeholders along the two highway routes for several years (training was developed by DOE-EM for WIPP transportation).

7 of 11

Shipment Coordination - Notifications

Required Notifications

NRC (Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10, Part 110, and Part 73.)
Safeguards Information (SGI) (schedules communicated to, DOE, States/ Tribes, and SRS-OC) (10 CFR 73.37 (b)(2))

Safeguards Information not to be released except with “need to know”:

Time and Schedule Information
Specific details about shipment
Security Measures (number of escorts, armament, disposition, communication systems, tracking systems)

9 of 11

2015 Shipment Demonstration Event

10 of 11

Lawsuit Over TRM Shipment

On August 12, 2016, several U.S.-based environmental interest groups filed suit in Federal Court against DOE in an effort to halt or delay the TRM shipments.
Plaintiffs alleged that DOE violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by not preparing a supplemental or new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). DOE voluntarily delayed shipments until the case was decided by the Court.
On February 2, 2017 the Court ruled in DOE’s favor, concluding that DOE met its NEPA obligations. The Court issued an Order dismissing the Plaintiffs' entire case, with prejudice.

1 of 11