1. Public health and safety considerations relating to licensed fuel reprocessing plants do not require that such facilities be located on land owned and controlled by the Federal Government. Such plants, including the facilities for the temporary storage of highlevel radioactive wastes, may be located on privately owned property.

2. A fuel reprocessing plant's inventory of high-level liquid radioactive wastes will be limited to that produced in the prior 5 years. (For the purpose of this statement of policy, “high-level liquid radioactive wastes” means those aqueous wastes resulting from the operation of the first cycle solvent extraction system, or equivalent, and the concentrated wastes from subsequent extraction cycles, or equivalent, in a facility for reprocessing irradiated reactor fuels.) High-level liquid radioactive wastes shall be converted to a dry solid as required to comply with this inventory limitation, and placed in a sealed container prior to transfer to a Federal repository in a shipping cask meeting the requirements of 10 CFR part 71. The dry solid shall be chemically, thermally, and radiolytically stable to the extent that the equilibrium pressure in the sealed container will not exceed the safe operating pressure for that container during the period from canning through a minimum of 90 days after receipt (transfer of physical custody) at the Federal repository. All of these high-level radioactive wastes shall be transferred to a Federal repository no later than 10 years following separation of fission products from the irradiated fuel. Upon receipt, the Federal repository will assume permanent custody of these radioactive waste materials although industry will pay the Federal Government a charge which together with interest on unexpended balances will be designed to defray all costs of disposal and perpetual surveillance. The Department of Energy will take title to the radioactive waste material upon transfer to a Federal repository. Before retirement of the reprocessing plant from operational status and before termination of licensing pursuant to §50.82, transfer of all such wastes to a Federal repository shall be completed. Federal repositories, which will be limited in number, will be designated later by the Commission.

3. Disposal of high-level radioactive fission product waste material will not be permitted on any land other than that owned and controlled by the Federal Government.

4. A design objective for fuel reprocessing plants shall be to facilitate decontamination and removal of all significant radioactive wastes at the time the facility is permanently decommissioned. Criteria for the extent of decontamination to be required upon decommissioning and license termination will be developed in consultation with competent groups. Opportunity will be afforded for public comment before such criteria are made effective.

5. Applicants proposing to operate fuel reprocessing plants, in submitting information concerning financial qualifications as required by §50.33(f), shall include information enabling the Commission to determine whether the applicant is financially qualified, among other things, to provide for the removal and disposal of radioactive wastes, during operation and upon decommissioning of the facility, in accordance with the Commission's regulations, including the requirements set out in this appendix.

6. With respect to fuel reprocessing plants already licensed, the licenses will be appropriately conditioned to carry out the purposes of the policy stated above with respect to high-level radioactive fission product wastes generated after installation of new equipment for interim storage of liquid wastes, or after installation of equipment required for solidification without interim liquid storage. In either case, such equipment shall be installed at the earliest practicable date, taking into account the time required for design, procurement and installation thereof. With respect to such plants, the application of the policy stated in this appendix to existing wastes and to wastes generated prior to the installation of such equipment, will be the subject of a further rulemaking proceeding.

[35 FR 17533, Nov. 14, 1970, as amended at 36 FR 5411, Mar. 23, 1971; 42 FR 20139, Apr. 18, 1977; 45 FR 14201, Mar. 5, 1980; 70 FR 3599, Jan. 26, 2005]