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§ 51.51 Uranium fuel cycle environmental data--Table S-3.
§ 51.51 Uranium fuel cycle environmental data--Table S-3.
(a) Under § 51.50, every
environmental report prepared for the
construction permit stage or early site
permit stage or combined license stage
of a light-water-cooled nuclear power
reactor, and submitted on or after
September 4, 1979, shall take Table
S–3, Table of Uranium Fuel Cycle
Environmental Data, as the basis for
evaluating the contribution of the
environmental effects of uranium
mining and milling, the production of
uranium hexafluoride, isotopic
enrichment, fuel fabrication,
reprocessing of irradiated fuel,
transportation of radioactive materials
and management of low-level wastes
and high-level wastes related to
uranium fuel cycle activities to the
environmental costs of licensing the
nuclear power reactor. Table S–3 shall
be included in the environmental report
and may be supplemented by a
discussion of the environmental
significance of the data set forth in the
table as weighed in the analysis for the
proposed facility.
S-3- of Uranium Fuel Cycle Environmental Data1
[Normalized to model LWR annual fuel requirement [WASH-1248] or reference
reactor year [NUREG-0116]]
[See Footnotes at end of this table]
| Environmental Considerations |
Total |
Maximum effect per annual fuel requirement or reference
reactor year of model 1,000 MWe LWR |
| Natural Resource Use |
| Land (acres) |
| Temporarily committed2 |
100 |
|
| Undisturbed area |
79 |
|
| Disturbed area |
22 |
Equivalent to a 110 MWe coal-fired power plant. |
| Permanently committed |
13 |
|
| Overburden moved (millions of MT) |
2.8 |
Equivalent to 95 MWe coal-fired power plant. |
| Water (millions of gallons) |
| Discharged to air |
160 |
=2 percent of model 1,000 MWe LWR with cooling tower. |
| Discharged to water bodies |
11,090 |
|
| Discharged to ground |
127 |
|
| Total |
11,377 |
<4 percent of model 1,000 MWe LWR with once through
cooling. |
| Fossil Fuel: |
| Electrical energy (thousands of MW-hour) |
323 |
<5 percent of model 1,000 MWe ouput |
| Equivalent coal (thousands of MT) |
118 |
Equivalent to the consumption of a 45 MWe coal-fired
power plant. |
| Natural gas (millions of scf) |
135 |
<0.4 percent of model 1,000 MWe energy output. |
| Effluents-Chemical (MT) |
| Gases (including entrainment):3 |
| SOx |
4,400 |
|
| NOx4 |
1,190 |
Equivalent to emissions from 45 MWe coal-fired plant
for a year. |
| Hydrocarbons |
14 |
|
| CO |
29.6 |
|
| Particulates |
1,154 |
|
| Other gases |
| F |
.67 |
Principally from UF6, production, enrichment,
and reprocessing. Concentration within range of state standards- below
level that has effects on human health. |
| HCl |
.014 |
|
| Liquids: |
| SO-4 |
9.9 |
From enrichment, fuel fabrication, and
reprocessing steps. Components that constitute a potential for adverse
environmental effect are present in dilute concentrations and receive
additional dilution by receiving bodies of water to levels below permissible
standards. The constituents that require dilution and the flow of
dilution water are: NH3-600cfs., NO3-20cfs.,
Fluoride-70cfs. |
| NO-3 |
25.8 |
| Fluoride |
12.9 |
| CA+ + |
5.4 |
| C1- |
8.5 |
| Na + |
12.1 |
| NH3 |
10.0 |
| Fe |
.4 |
|
| Tailings Solutions (thousands of MT) |
240 |
From mills only-- no significant effluents to environment. |
| Solids |
91,000 |
Principally from mills-- no significant effluents to
environment. |
| Effluents-- Radiological (curies) |
| Gases (including entrainment): |
| Rn-222 |
|
Presently under reconsideration by the Commission. |
| Ra-226 |
.02 |
|
| Th-230 |
.02 |
|
| Uranium |
.034 |
|
| Tritium (thousands) |
18.1 |
|
| C-14 |
24 |
|
| Kr-85(thousands) |
400 |
|
| Ru-106 |
.14 |
Principally from fuel reprocessing plants. |
| I-129 |
1.3 |
|
| I-131 |
.83 |
|
| Tc-99 |
|
Presently under consideration by the Commission |
| Fission products and transuranics |
.203 |
|
| Liquids: |
| Uranium and daughters |
2.1 |
Principally from milling-- included tailings liquor
and returned to ground--no effluents; therefore, no effect on the
environment. |
| Ra-226 |
.0034 |
From UF6 production. |
| Th-230 |
.0015 |
|
| Th-234 |
.01 |
From fuel fabrication plants-- concentration 10 percent
of 10 CFR 20 for total processing 26 annual fuel requirements for
model LWR. |
| Fission and activation products |
5.9 x 10-6 |
|
| Solids (buried on site): |
| Other than high level (shallow) |
11,300 |
9,100 Ci comes from low level reactor wastes and 1,5000
Ci comes from reactor decontamination and decommissioning--buried
at land burial facilities. 600 Ci comes from mills--included in
tailing returned to ground. Approximately 60 Ci comes from conversion
and spent fuel storage. No significant effluent to the environment.
|
| TRU and HLW (deep) |
1.1 x 107 |
Buried at Federal Repository |
| Effluents-- thermal (billions of British thermal
units) |
4,063 |
<5 percent of model 1,000 MWe LWR. |
| Transportation (person-rem): |
| Exposure of workers and general public |
2.5 |
|
| Occupational exposure |
22.6 |
From reprocessing and waste management. |
[49 FR 9381, Mar. 12, 1984; 49 FR 10922, Mar. 23, 1984, as amended at
67 FR 77652, Dec. 19, 2002; 72 FR 49512, Aug. 28, 2007]
1 In some cases where no entry appears it is clear from the background documents that the matter was addressed and that, in
effect, the Table, should be read as if a specific zero entry had been made. However there are other areas that are not
addressed at all in the Table. Table S-3 does not include health effects from the effluents described in the Table, or
estimates of releases of Radon-222 from the uranium fuel cycle or estimates of Technetium-99 released from waste
management or reprocessing activities. These issues may be the subject of litigation in the individual licensing proceedings.
Data supporting this table are given in the Environmental Survey of the
Uranium Fuel Cycle," WASH-1248, April 1974; the "Environmental Survey
of Reprocessing and Waste Management Portion of the LWR Fuel Cycle," NUREG-0116
(Supp. 1 to WASH-1248); the "Public Comments and Task Force Responses
Regarding the Environmental Survey of the Reprocessing and Waste Management
Portions of the LWR Fuel Cycle," NUREG-0216 (Supp.2 to WASH-1248): and
in the record of final rulemaking pertaining to Uranium Fuel Cycle Impacts
from Spent Fuel Reprocessing and Radiocative Waste Management, Docket
RM-50-3. The contributions from reprocessing, waste management and transporttation
of wastes are maximized for either of the two fuel cycles (uranium only
and fuel recycle). The contribution from transportation excludes transportation
of cold fuel to a reactor and of irradiated fuel and radioactive wastes
from a reactor which are considered in Table S-4 of § 51.20(g). The contributions
from the other steps of the fuel cycle are given in columns A-E of Table
S-3A of WASH-1248.
2 The contributions to temporarily committed land from reprocessing are not prorated over 30 years, since the complete
temporary impact accrues regardless of whether the plant services one reactor for one year or 57 reactors for 30 years.
3 Estimated effluents based upon combustion of equivalent coal for power generation.
4 1.2 percent from natural gas use and process.
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