| The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
is amending its regulations regarding a potential nuclear waste repository at
Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to set out numerical values for deciding when a geological,
hydrological or climatological feature, event or process is unlikely and therefore
need not be considered in determining whether the repository would meet radiation
dose standards for groundwater protection and human intrusion in NRC’s
regulations.
Unlikely events would still have to be considered in determining whether
the repository would meet the overall 15-millirem radiation dose limit for
protection of individuals.
Environmental Protection Agency standards, adopted by the NRC, require naturally
occurring “unlikely” features, events, and processes or sequences
of processes (such as volcanoes) to be excluded from determining compliance
with radiation dose standards for groundwater protection and human intrusion
(for example, if someone drills into the repository).
The new NRC regulation defines “unlikely” as having less than
a 10 percent chance of occurring within 10,000 years of waste disposal.
A proposed rule on this subject was published in the Federal Register for
public comment on January 25. No changes were made as a result of the comments
received, and the Commission decided to finalize the rule as originally proposed.
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