Platts - Thursday, May 05, 2005 http://www.platts.com ------------ German cabinet changes regulations for nuke waste storage Freiburg (Platts)--5May2005 The German cabinet on Wednesday changed the regulations on the salt formation Gorleben in northern Germany so that the location can be considered as a final nuclear waste storage facility, the environment ministry said. Under Germany's nuclear decommissioning agreement of Jun 14, 2000, the government obliged itself to keep the salt rock protected and unharmed for at least three to a maximum of ten years. The regulation, which yet needs the agreement of Germany's upper house of parliament, forbids the recovery of salt at Gorleben. A mining company has been trying to recover salt there for years. Germany is to hold a national selection process of where it will keep the waste of its nuclear reactors, 18 of which are currently in operation. For now, the majority of German nuclear plants have intermediate storage locations for waste on local sites, avoiding transports of the waste. This story was originally published in Platts European Power Alert http://www.europeanpoweralert.platts.com ------------ DOE's repository license submittal date not expected before 2006 Washington (Platts)--4May2005 It could be early 2006 before DOE sends a repository license application to NRC, according to projections by attorneys for the DOE nuclear waste program. During a session today before a special NRC licensing board, attorney Donald Irwin didn't dispute the board's projection today that DOE would certify in late July or August that all repository-relevant documents were publicly available through a Web-based databank. DOE will submit an application to NRC at least six months later, Irwin said. But he added that some of the factors that would influence the submittal date, such as when a new Environmental Protection Agency standard would be available for the nuclear waste disposal facility planned for Yucca Mountain, Nev., were out of DOE's control. DOE announced late last year it could not meet its self-imposed December 2004 deadline for sending an application to NRC, but it has not yet officially announced a new target date. ------------ US DOE revises timeline to submit repository application to NRC Washington (Platts)--4May2005 The US Dept of Energy Wednesday said it could be early 2006 before it will be able to submit a high-level nuclear waste repository license application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Attorneys for the DOE waste program told a special NRC licensing board that the agency expects to certify in late July or August that all repository-related documents are publicly available through a web-based databank. An application will be submitted a minimum of six months after certification, said DOE Attorney Donald Irwin. This story was originally published in Platts Electricity Alert http://www.electricityalert.platts.com ------------ GAO critical of DOE's progress on nuclear smuggling at ports Washington (Platts)--3May2005 DOE has made "limited progress" installing seaport radiation detectors to combat nuclear smuggling, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released today. DOE's Megaports Initiative has completed work at two ports, signed agreements with five other ports, and is negotiating agreements with 18 additional countries, but lacks "a comprehensive long-term plan to guide the Initiative's efforts," GAO said. The report is at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05375.pdf. ------------