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NRC to add new items to categorical exclusions list
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has identified five categories of action to add to its list of categorical exclusions to reduce its documentation work under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures.
These revisions are included in the final rule, “Categorical exclusions from environmental review,” which was published in the Federal Register on March 30. The final rule will become effective on April 29.
L. G. Faust, L. W. Brackenbush, R. C. Smith, L. L. Nichols, D. W. Brite
Nuclear Technology | Volume 15 | Number 2 | August 1972 | Pages 249-256
Technical Paper | Plutonium Utilization in Commercial Power Reactors / Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT72-A31149
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Gamma and neutron radiation dose rates from various experimental fuel assemblies and from full-size commercial BWR and PWR power reactor fuel assemblies containing UO2-PuO2 fuel with high exposure plutonium were measured. Maximum gamma and neutron dose rates encountered at 61-cm distance from the surfaces of the fuel assemblies were 6.5 mR/h and 25 mrem/h, respectively. It is concluded that commercial reactor operators can handle fuel assemblies containing high exposure plutonium without excessive personnel exposure and with a minimum of special handling procedures. However, radiation shielding for some fuel fabrication steps will be necessary with plutonium of the type expected to become available during the late 1970s.