Platts - Saturday, December 31, 2005
http://www.platts.com

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Westinghouse AP1000 gets NRC okay for certification

Washington (Platts)--30Dec2005

Westinghouse's AP1000 received approval today from NRC commissioners in a
final rule certifying it as a standardized design. The rule to certify the
1,100-MW advanced PWR as an appendix to NRC's licensing regulations (10 Code
of Federal Regulations Part 52) becomes effective 30 days after it is
published in the Federal Register, likely to occur some time next month.
Although it will be the fourth NRC-certified standardized design, the AP1000
will be the first "Generation III+" reactor to receive such certification,
Westinghouse said. DOE considers Gen III+ plants to have significant
improvements in safety and economics over the Generation III advanced reactor
designs certified by NRC in the 1990s. Westinghouse said it expects an AP1000
could be constructed in about 36 months from first concrete to fuel load.

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Waste determination approach proposed by DOE can meet criteria

Washington (Platts)--30Dec2005

A waste determination approach proposed by DOE can meet congressionally
mandated criteria, NRC concluded in a Dec 28 report. A fiscal 2005 defense
authorization bill required DOE to consult with NRC on its strategy for
treating and disposing of salt waste at the department's Savannah River
Site. The bill required DOE to determine, in consultation with NRC, that
certain radwaste resulting from reprocessing of spent fuel is not high-level
waste.

NRC's technical evaluation report, released by the agency on Dec 29, said
DOE could meet the criteria in the bill, "provided certain assumptions made
in DOE's analyses are verified via monitoring." NRC spokesman David McIntyre
said the NRC's review "does not constitute regulatory approval of DOE's
waste management activities" and that it was DOE's responsibility to
determine "whether the waste is not high-level waste."

For more information, take a trial to Nuclear News Flashes at
http://www.nuclearnews.platts.com.

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