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Experience has shown that the analyses of marine transport of spent fuel in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) were conservative. It is anticipated that for most shipments. The external dose rate for the loaded transportation cask will be more in line with recent shipments. At the radiation levels associated with these shipments, we would not expect any personnel to exceed radiation exposure limits for the public. Package dose rates usually well below the regulatory limits and personnel work practices following ALARA principles are keeping human exposures to minimal levels. However, the potential for Mure shipments with external dose rates closer to the exclusive-use regulatory limit suggests that DOE should continue to provide a means to assure that individual crew members do not receive doses in excess of the public dose limits. As a minimum, the program will monitor cask dose rates and continue to implement administrative procedures that will maintain records of the dose rates associated with each shipment, the vessel used, and the crew list for the vessel. DOE will continue to include a clause in the contract for shipment of the foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel requiring that the Mitigation Action Plan be followed.

In late 1994, Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, (SNL/NM), was instructed by the Department of Energy (DOE) Isotope Production and Distribution Program (IPDP) to examine the feasibility of producing medically useful radioisotopes using the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) and the Hot Cell Facility (HCF). Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) would be expected to supply the targets to be irradiated in the ACRR. The intent of DOE would be to provide a capability to satisfy the North American health care system demand for {sup 99}Mo, the parent of {sup 99m}Tc, in the event of an interruption in the current Canadian supply. {sup 99m}Tc is used in 70 to 80% of all nuclear medicine procedures in the US. The goal of the SNL/NM study effort is to determine the physical plant capability, infrastructure, and staffing necessary to meet the North American need for {sup 99}Mo and to identify and examine all issues with potential for environmental impact.

This document describes the results of the Workshop on Port Selection Criteria for Shipments of Spent Nuclear Fuel. The workshop was held at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York on November 15 and 16, 1993. The workshop panel of maritime experts developed criteria for the US Department of Energy for the evaluation and selection of ports of entry for spent-fuel shipments. While recommending criteria for selecting ports, the workshop panel agreed that any port capable of handling an ocean-going vessel is capable of safely receiving spent nuclear fuel.