DRC-2020-010570 - 0901a06880c958ef

YF
DRC-2oZo-010570
May 19, 2020
SENT VIA E-MAIL AND EXPEDITED DELIVERY
Energy Fuels Resources (USA) inc.
225 Union Blvd. Suite 600
Lakewood, CO, US, 80228
303 974 2140
www.energyfuels.com
Div ot Waste Management and Radiation Control
MAY 2 7 2020
Mr. Ty L. Howard
Director
Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
195 North 1950 West
P.O. Box 144880
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Re: Receipt and Processing of Ores and Equivalent Feed Materials from Japan Atomic Energy Agency
("JAEA") at the Energy Fuels Resources (USA) Inc. ("EFRI") White Mesa Mill
Dear Mr. Howard:
This letter is to advise the Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control ("DWMRC") of EFRI' s plan
to receive and process at the White Mesa Mill (the "Mill") a small quantity (approximately 136 tons) of natural
uranium ores and equivalent feed materials (collectively, the "Materials") from two JAEA uranium test centers,
for the recovery of uranium. Because these materials are natural ores and equivalent feed materials, EFRI plans to
receive and process these materials under the Mill's current Radioactive Materials License ("RML") No. 1900479.
Under the proposed transaction, EFRI would receive the Materials from the following two JAEA uranium recovery
and fuel cycle test facilities in Honshu, Japan:
• JAEA Ningyo-toge Environmental Engineering Center (the "Ningyo Center" or "Ningyo"), and
• JAEA Tono Geoscience Center (the "Tono Center" or "Tono").
1. Background
The Ningyo Center, located in central Honshu island, researched uranium mining and recovery technologies,
including recovery and conversion of off-spec yellowcake ("scrapped uranium"), recovery of UF6 trapped in gas
containers prior to enrichment ("hold-up uranium"), and technologies to improve reclamation of uranium mines and
former uranium fuel cycle facilities. The Tono Center, located in southwestern Honshu island, conducted research
to establish techniques for investigation, analysis and assessment of the deep geological environment related to
radioactive material disposal, and develop uranium mining technologies. JAEA plans to ship only:
• unprocessed natural ores and ore-bearing natural media from storage and testing of natural uranium ores,
• equivalent feed materials in the form of uranium-loaded resin ("ULR") and associated uranium-loaded filter
bed sands, from uranium recovery testing of natural uranium ores, and
• equivalent feed materials in the form of uranium-loaded carbon from natural uranium ore dewatering
treatment testing.
The Materials do not include material from testing of any other downstream step of the uranium fuel cycle; that is,
Letter to Ty L. Howard
May 19, 2020
Page 2 of 10
JAEA will not ship any chemically converted, enriched, or depleted forms of uranium.
The quantities of Materials from the two JAEA test centers are listed in Tables A-1 and A-2 in Attachment A. The
values in Tables A-1 and A-2 are approximate. Changes in moisture content and inconsistencies in measurement
accuracy may cause the measured weights of loaded containers to vary appreciably.
A description of each of the types of Materials, modes of transportation, storage at the Mill after receipt, and disposal
of the byproduct residuals are discussed below.
2. Natural Ores__
JAEA tested uranium ores from 33 countries, primarily Canada, Niger and Japan, including natural ores from Japan's
Ningyo-toge and Togo uranium mines, which are currently undergoing reclamation. The other source locations of
the ores may have included U.S. and non-U.S. locations from which the Mill has previously received and processed
ores.
The natural ores to be shipped from JAEA include raw uranium ores in bulk, containerized uranium ore samples,
cores, test hole samples, and spilled ore material/soil scrapings of natural uranium ore mixed with native rock and/or
soil, totaling approximately 85.4 tons (or approximately three typical ore trucks). The Mill has historically received
natural uranium ore and ore-containing natural materials including rock, drill core, ore samples, soil cuttings, and
spilled ore material/soil scrapings, from EFRI' s own as well as other conventional mines under its existing RML.
All the natural ores have uranium grades consistent with natural uranium ores routinely received and processed at
the Mill, ranging from less than 0.05% to 3.0% natural uranium (3.53% U308), with an average of approximately
0.29% U308, which is comparable to Colorado Plateau uranium ores. Based on the approximate quantities of natural
ores in Table A-1, processing of the ore is expected to result in the production of approximately 0.24 tons of
yellowcake. The recovery of this amount of yellowcake will not cause the Mill to exceed its RML production limit
of 4380 tons of yellowcake per year.
3. Equivalent Feed Materials
3.1. Uranium Loaded Resins and associated Filter Bed Sands
EFRI is proposing to accept the ULR and associated filter bed sands as equivalent feed material, totaling
approximately 40.5 tons, in accordance with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ("NRC") Regulatory Issue
Summary ("RIS") 2012-06. The NRC RIS 2012-06, dated April 16, 2013, entitled NRC Policy Regarding
Submittal of Amendments for Processing of Equivalent Feed at Licensed Uranium Recovery Facilities, describes
the NRC's position and licensee requirements for acceptance of ULR as equivalent feed materials. For ease
of review the NRC RIS 2012-06 is included as Attachment B to this letter.
The RIS states:
"In situ recovery (ISR), conventional mills, or heap leach facilities with NRC or Agreement
State licensed resin processing plants, may accept equivalent feed, as defined in the regulatory
issue summary, without a license amendment."
Enclosure 2 of the RIS specifies that the licensee should document that the ULRs meet the equivalent feed
criteria by meeting the three criteria below. A summary of how the JAEA ULR meets the criteria is presented
below each of the following NRC- specified criteria (which are shown in italics):
Letter to Ty L. Howard
May 19, 2020
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(a) Chemically and physically essentially the same as the resins processed at thefacility;
The Mill has previously used ion exchange resins and technology to recover uranium from low-grade uranium
bearing acidic solutions. The Mill utilized DOWEX 21K XLT anion exchange resin.
Both the Tono and Ningyo Centers experimented on the effectiveness of multiple uranium recovery
IX resins, and uranium water treatment resins. The resins included in the material to be shipped to the Mill
are as follows:
• Dowex XSF-43116-2
• Diaion PA-316, PA-318, and CR-50
• SA-11A
A comparison of the JAEA resins to the Mill resin follows:
• All are strong base, type 1, anion exchange resins;
• The composition of each is a trimethyl or tetramethyl amine functionalized chloromethylated copolymer of
styrene and vinylic monomer backbone;
• Both the JAEA and Mill resins are in the form of resin beads with essentially the same weight;
• The bead sizes range from 0.3 to 1.3 mm. This range includes the size of the DOWEX 21K XLT; and
• Each product is selective for uranium.
The Mill could use any of the JAEA resins for future recovery of uranium from low-grade uranium bearing acidic
solutions in the future, in the same manner as it has used the DOWEX 21K SLT anion exchange resin in the past.
Also included with the ULR is a small quantity (approximately 4.73 tons, or less than the amount of ore shipped in
one quarter of a typical ore truck) of filter bed sands placed just upstream of the IX columns. These filter bed sands
are natural particulate sand loaded with the same solutions as the ULR.' These sands are sometimes referred to as
"process materials" or "process solids" in some translations of the documents supplied by JAEA. The sand matrix
of these filter bed sands is as benign as the natural rock, soil or sand matrix from the natural uranium ores routinely
processed at the Mill.
(b) Using existing equipment, will be processed in the same way as the resins processed at the facility; and
The Mill has previously processed ULR through the main circuit by contacting loaded resins with a separate
solution to remove the uranium; a process referred to as stripping. The stripped solution, which contains the
uranium is pumped to the solvent extraction ("SX") feed tank. The solutions are then handled in the same
manner as solutions from all other feeds processed at the Mill. The equivalent feed ULR would be handled in
the same manner utilizing the same stripping followed by delivery to the SX feed tank and the rest of the existing
Mill facilities and processes.
Although we are considering the filter bed sands to be part of the ULR equivalent feed stream because they are merely
natural sands contaminated with the same solutions as found in the ULR equivalent feed and are an associated component of that equivalent feed, the filter bed sands could also be considered equivalent feed in and of themselves, for the same reasons
the activated carbon below should be considered equivalent feed materials. This is because the filter bed sands can also be
considered a media that is used for natural uranium recovery processing or water treatment, and which consequently become
loaded with uranium, as contemplated by the RIS, as discussed in more detail in Section 3.2 below.
Letter to Ty L. Howard
May 19, 2020
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The filter bed sands will be processed in the same way as natural ores, by acid or alkaline leaching of the uranium
minerals alone or in combination with other ores. The sands will travel through the Mill process in the same way,
and be disposed of in the tailings management system in the same way, as rock or sand components of natural ores.
The filter bed sands could alternatively simply be washed, as they are merely naturally sands coated with the same
solutions as the ULR, with the wash solutions processed along with pie ULR. However, given the small quantity of
filter bed sands, it would be easier to merely include them in the next conventional ore run at the Mill.
(c) Processing the equivalent feed material does not exceed the uranium production limits in the license and
stays within the existing safety and environmental review envelopefor the facility.
The processing of the ULR and associated filter bed sands, which will result in approximately 0.24 tons of
yellowcake, will not cause the Mill to exceed the RML production limit of 4380 tons of yellowcake per. year.
Processing the ULR and associated filter bed sands does not:
• require any additional chemicals beyond those already in use at the Mill
• produce any process conditions (pH, temperature) outside the range of those managed elsewhere in the
Mill or previously at the Mill,
• generate increased levels of radionuclides in any part of the process beyond those produced in the previous
process configurations, or
• generate any additional or increased quantities of air emissions.
3.2. Uranium-Loaded Carbon from Mine Water Treatment
In addition to the ULR and associated filter bed sands, the Company intends to receive and process a small quantity,
(approximately 10.3 tons or less than the amount of ore shipped in one half of a typical ore truck), of activated
carbon from testing of uranium mine water treatment at Ningyo. Activated carbon is another type of water treatment
media, which we believe meets the criteria in the RIS and should be considered an equivalent feed material.
The RIS states:
"Consequently, in this guidance, the staff is defining the term "Equivalent feed" to apply to those
circumstances where the feed material is essentially the same chemically and physically as the
source material that is primarily processed at a uranium recovery facility. Such material should not
be considered as alternative feed requiring license amendments as described in RIS-00-23 if it
meets the equivalent feed criteria articulated in this RIS. Equivalent feed can originate at a CWS
or mine dewatering operation. In addition, equivalent feed can also include ULR originating from
another licensed uranium recovery facility."
In the three types of operations identified by NRC in the foregoing excerpt, although not stated explicitly, IX resins
are not the only media that are used for natural uranium recovery processing or water treatment, and which
consequently become loaded with uranium. For example, depending on the water quality and discharge
requirements, uranium mine water treatment media may include granular or powdered activated carbon in adsorption
columns or beds.
EFRI believes that the application of the RIS to the activated carbon Material is appropriate. Even though these
Materials are not IX resins, they are a material used for binding or holdup of uranium. The activated carbon was in
contact with the same types of uranium solutions (uranium process solutions in contact with filter sands or mine
water in contact with carbon) that would be in contact with IX as anticipated in the RIS.
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May 19, 2020
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Enclosure 2 of the RIS specifies that the licensee should document that the materials meet the equivalent feed
criteria by meeting the three criteria below. A summary of how the activated carbon Material meets the criteria is
presented below each of the following NRC- specified criteria (which are shown in italics):
(a) Chemically and physically essentially the same as the materials processed at thefacility;
Activated carbon, used in water treatment, is prepared by reducing natural carbon-containing organic materials such
as walnut shell fiber or coconut shell fiber to elemental carbon, or by purifying naturally occurring sources (coal) to
elemental carbon. Regardless of source, treatment-grade activated carbon is elemental carbon varying only in
particle size and geometry and/or pore size and geometry.
Carbon is a natural element that is more inert than IX resin, more chemically stable, binds a wider range of particle
sizes regardless of ionic charge, binds constituents more strongly than ion exchange resins, and in fact is selected
for some applications for these reasons. As a treatment medium, carbon differs from sand, from which uranium and
other constituents may sometimes be mechanically "knocked" loose from the media pores by back-washing in place,
or ion exchange resin, from which constituents can be removed by replacement with other ions from sources such
as salts. Carbon cannot be freed of bound constituents, that is, it cannot be recovered, by processes or conditions
available at a mine water treatment location. Constituents can only be removed from carbon by thermal regeneration
in a low oxygen furnace, or by digestion of the constituents and/or carbon in strong acids such as in the Mill process.
The carbon itself is as environmentally benign as the rock or sand matrices of natural ores, and more inert and more
benign than IX resins.
(b) Using existing equipment, will be processed in the same way as other uranium-bearing solids processed at
the facility; and
The activated carbon will be processed in the same way as natural ores, by acid or alkaline leaching of the uranium
minerals alone or in combination with other ores. The carbon will travel through the Mill circuits in the same way,
and be disposed of in the tailings management system in the same way, as rock or sand or other non-uranium
components of natural ores.
(c) Processing the equivalent feed material does not exceed the uranium production limits in the license and
stays within the existing safety and environmental review envelope for the facility.
The processing of the uranium-loaded carbon, which will result in approximately 0.1 tons of yellowcake, will not
cause the Mill to exceed the RML production limit of 4380 tons of yellowcake per year.
Processing the uranium-loaded carbon does not:
• require any additional chemicals beyond those already in use at the Mill,
• produce any process conditions (pH, temperature) outside the range of those managed elsewhere in the
Mill or previously at the Mill,
• generate increased levels of radionuclides in any part of the process beyond those produced in the previous
process configurations, or
• generate any additional or increased quantities of air emissions.
(d) Is the material from a water treatment facility?
The activated carbon resulted from the mine water treatment testing facility at Ningyo, which evaluated
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May 19, 2020
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technologies for treating mine water to meet discharge standards. The carbon was only in contact with raw mine
water or pre-treated mine water as component technology of a test scale water treatment unit.
4. Other Considerations
4.1. Transport
The bulk ores will be transported to the Mill in 100, 200 or 300 liter (30, 55, or 80 gallon) sealed metal drums.
Smaller ore, soil and core samples will be sealed in 15 kg (approximately 5 gallon) metal containers. The resins
will be transported to the Mill in 200 or 300 liter (55 or 80 gallon) sealed metal drums. The filter bed sands will
be transported to the Mill in 300 liter (80 gallon) sealed metal drums. The activated carbon will be transported to
the Mill in 200 liter (55 gallon) sealed metal drums. The resins, filter bed sands and activated carbon will be
transported by the same route and equipment, and potentially in the same shipment, as the ores.
The Materials, in their various drums and metal containers, will be loaded into closed cargo containers, such as
Container Express ("Conex"), Sea Boxes, Intermodal Containers ("IMCs") or the equivalent and transported by
truck to a port of departure in Japan. The containers will be transferred to a container ship and will be transported
by sea from Japan to a port of arrival, potentially in one seaborne shipment. The closed cargo containers will be
transferred either to:
• intermodal rail cars at the port of entry and transported by rail to one of the existing rail transfer yards in
Utah (e.g., Green River), followed by transfer to intermodal truck tractors from the railhead to the Mill, or
• multi-unit truck tractors at the port of entry and transported by truck over public highways from the port of
entry to the Mill.
The number of trucks associated with transporting the Material from the port of entry or the railhead to the Mill
will be approximately the same as the number of trucks required to transport the quantity of ore needed to
produce the same mass of yellowcake. The number of trucks required to transport the resulting separated,
precipitated, dried and packaged yellowcake to and from the Mill would be the same as required to transport
yellowcake produced from processing natural ores or any other feed at the Mill.
4.2. Storage at the Mill, Pending Processing
The Materials will be transported to the Mill in sealed drums of various sizes as described above in closed transport
containers. Upon arrival at the Mill, the drums will be unloaded from the transport containers, and the transport
containers will be decontaminated, scanned and released from the site, or retained on site for use in Mill operations.
To the extent any of the Materials are not fed directly into the Mill process upon receipt, they will be stored in their
sealed drums on the Mill's ore storage pad, pending processing.
4.3. Disposal
The RIS states
"Following elution of the ULR equivalent feed (i.e., removal of the uranium from the treatment
resin), the resulting stripped resin can take two paths. Since the NRC is allowing equivalent feed
to be processed at uranium recovery facilities, the wastes associated with processing equivalent
feed (i.e. stripped resin) can be considered byproduct material, as defined in Title 10 of the Code
of Federal Regulations Part 40. Therefore, these wastes could be disposed of at an NRC-licensed
facility without further documentation."
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May 19, 2020
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In addition to disposing of the ore tailings in the Mill's tailings management system, in accordance with the RIS,
EFRI plans to dispose of the resin from processing of the equivalent feed ULR, residuals from processing of the
loaded sands and residuals from processing of loaded activated carbon in the Mill's tailings management system.
Once EFRI has recovered uranium from the URL, EFRI plans to return the eluted resins to their shipping containers,
or other closed drums, for disposal in the beach area of the selected tailings cell. Tailings generated from the other
Materials will be in the form of wet tailings sands, and will comprise a part of the normal tailings slurries piped to
the tailings management system.
4.4. Import License not Required
The Material may be imported into the United States as "source material" under 10 CFR 110.20(a), because it is
covered by the NRC general license described in 10 CFR 110.27(a), and because the Uranium Material:
• is not in the form of irradiated fuel, as contemplated by 10 CFR 110.27(b); and
• is not a radioactive waste, as contemplated by 10 CFR 110.27(c). As an ore or equivalent feed material, the
Material will not be a radioactive waste as defined in 10 CFR 110.2 because (A) the Material will be
processed for its source material content, and will therefore be imported solely for the purposes of
yellowcake production and not for waste management or disposal, and (B) there is a market for the produced
yellowcake.
In its November 1998 approval of Amendment 9 to the Mill's Source Material License SUA-1358, White Mesa
Uranium Mill — Approval to Process Materials from Cameco Corporation's Facilities in Ontario, Canada," which
are alternate feed materials from Canada, the NRC came to the same conclusion with respect to an alternate feed
material ore that was being processed for its source material content at the Mill:
"Finally, import of radioactive materials from Canada required a license from NRC. As discussed
above, the staff has determined that these uranium-bearing materials from Cameco's Blind River
and Port Hope facilities will be processed for their source-material content. Therefore, with the
staff's approval of IUC' s request to process these materials, IUC also is authorized to import them
under the general license at 10 CFR 110.27."
Because the import of the Material into the United States is covered by the general license in 10 CFR Part 110.27(a),
a specific import license is not required.
If you should have any questions regarding this submittal, please contact me.
Yours very truly,
ENERGY FUELS RESOURCES (USA) INC.
David C. Frydenlund
Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
cc: Scott Bakken
Letter to Ty L. Howard
May 19, 2020
Page 8 of 10
Mark Chalmers
Paul Goranson
Logan Shumway
Terry Slade
Kathy Weinel
Harold R. Roberts
Jo Ann Tischler
ATTACHMENT A
JAEA FEED QUANTITY DATA
Table A-1
Natural Ores
Ores
(metric
tons)
Ores
(tons)
Total
(tons)
Ores Total
(tons)
Ningyo Canada 10.6 11.7
Niger 0.7 0.8
Central Africa 0.2 0.22
Brazil 0.3 0.33
Gabon 0.1 0.11
Various 8.3 9.1 22.2 Total Ningyo
Tono Various 0.5 0.55
Canada 0.4 0.44
Niger 1.3 1.43
Japan 6.3 6.9
Various 0.5 0.55
Calibration Ores 41.9 46.1
Ore Cores 4.4 4.84
Ore soils 2.1 2.31 63.1 Total Tono
77.6 85.4 85.4 Total Ores
Table A-2
Equivalent Feed Materials
Equivalent
Feed
(metric
tons)
Equivalent
Feed
(tons)
Total
(tons)
Equivalent Feed
Total (tons)
Ningyo Loaded Resin 30.6 33.7
Loaded Carbon 9.4 10.3 44.0 Total Ningyo
Tono Loaded Sands 4.3 4.73
Loaded Resin 1.9 2.09 6.8 Total Tono
46.2 50.82 50.8 Total Equivalent
Feeds
ATTACHMENT B
NRC RIS 2012-06
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF FEDERAL AND STATE MATERIALS
AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555
April 16, 2012
NRC REGULATORY ISSUE SUMMARY 2012-06
NRC POLICY REGARDING SUBMITTAL OF AMENDMENTS FOR
PROCESSING OF EQUIVALENT FEED
AT LICENSED URANIUM RECOVERY FACILITIES
ADDRESSEES
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensed uranium recovery facilities; all holders of
NRC operating licenses for water treatment; all companies that have submitted applications to
construct all types of new uranium recovery facilities (conventional mills, heap leach facilities,
and in situ recovery (ISR) facilities); and all Radiation Control Program Directors and State
Liaison Officers.
INTENT
In 2000, the NRC developed Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 00-23, "Recent Changes to
Uranium Recovery Policy," (ADAMS Accession No. ML003773008) to address issues related to
uranium recovery. These issues include jurisdictional responsibilities of NRC and
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with respect to processing of alternate feed and tailings
and waste at uranium recovery sites. The NRC is issuing this RIS to provide guidance on the
impact the processing of alternative feed may have for individual licensees. Specifically, this
guidance addresses how to determine if the processing of certain alternative feed materials
requires a license amendment from NRC. This guidance describes the agency's policy that
receipt and processing, of "equivalent feed° (ion exchange resin media) at an NRC-licensed
uranium recovery facility, whether conventional, heap leach, or ISR, does not require a license
amendment when the resin is chemically and physically essentially the same as that which is
currently processed, would be processed using the facility's existing equipment, does not
exceed the license's uranium production limit and stays within the facility's environmental and
safety review envelope. It is not the intent of this RIS to change the policy expressed in RIS 00-
23 or redefine the definition of alternate feed. Rather, this guidance addresses one aspect of
how the alternative feed guidance in RIS-00-23 may be reflected in making a determination of
the need for a license amendment for individual licensees.
' For the purposes of this RIS, equivalent feed is ion exchange (IX) resin that is loaded with uranium at
facilities licensed for source material (i.e. water treatment plants or mine dewatering operations) or
licensed uranium recovery facilities whether conventional, heap leach, or ISR facilities.
ML110470571
RIS 2012-06
Page 2 of 7
BACKGROUND
As stated above, the NRC is issuing this RIS to clarify the NRC's policy regarding alternate
feed. In SECY-99-012, "Use of Uranium Mill Tailings Impoundments for the Disposal of Other
Than 11e.(2)2 Byproduct Materials, and Reviews of Applications to Process Material Other Than
Natural Uranium Ores," (available at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-
collections/commission/secys/1999/) the staff defined alternate feed as material other than
natural uranium ores. Alternate feed can, therefore, be certain wastes, including sludges or
soils, from other sites that contains recoverable amounts of uranium. The RIS 00-23 provided
guidance on evaluating requests for a license amendment for a uranium recovery facility (i.e.,
conventional mill) to accept this material, recover the uranium, and dispose of the tailings (i.e.,
waste material) as byproduct material in the mill tailings impoundment. In contrast to a
conventional uranium recovery mill, in the ISR method, ore is not extracted from the ground for
processing at a mill. Rather, the ore is processed in-situ with the resulting uranium-bearing
fluids being passed through columns containing IX resins located on the surface. The uranium
ions in the fluids adhere to the IX resin (which is referred to as uranium loaded resin (ULR)).
The ULR is considered source material under NRC regulations and processed to remove the
uranium. Typically, the processed (stripped) resin is reused in ion exchange circuits until the
resin can no longer capture uranium ions (spent resin). The spent resin is considered lle.(2)
byproduct material under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) and must be disposed of according to
NRC regulations.
The NRC staff's analyses have concluded the resin from certain source material operations,
such as community water treatment facilities and mine dewatering operations, are essentially
the same as the resin being used at licensed uranium recovery facilities (e.g. ISRs or
conventional mills/heap leach facilities using ion exchange circuits). The NRC staff based this
finding on the fact that the resins are chemically and physically essentially the same, and would
be processed in the same way, as resins used in normal uranium recovery operations at these
facilities.
Small Community Water Systems (CWSs) are required to remove uranium from drinking water
to meet EPA drinking water standards. The transport, treatment, and disposal of treatment
residuals (e.g., ULR resulting from the water treatment) can be a significant cost. It has been
noted by the EPA that for small-scale CWSs, handling of treatment residuals such as ULR may
account for 50 percent of their total operating budget3.
Similarly, mine dewatering operations involve the extraction of water from surface or
underground mines and, when necessary, the treatment of extracted water to remove pollutants
prior to discharge. Mine dewatering is often necessary to allow miners to safely extract ore. In
2 The Atomic Energy Act, as revised in 1978 and in 2005 by the Energy Policy Act, defines byproduct
material in Section 1le(2) as "the tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of
uranium or thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material content".
3 The EPA currently defines uranium-loaded resin generated by drinking water treatment to remove the
uranium as a Technically-Enhanced Naturally-Occurring Radioactive Material (TENORM) that requires
disposal at a facility permitted under Subtitle C or D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
RIS 2012-06
Page 3 of 7
the case of uranium mine dewatering, extracted water is often treated by IX resin to remove
uranium prior to discharge. These IX resins must either be disposed in a landfill or could be
eluted at a uranium recovery facility. It should be noted that in the past, mine dewatering resins
have been treated as alternate feed at conventional mills (57 FR 20532). These license
amendments were required because at that time, the staff considered the mine dewatering
resins to be processed or refined ore distinct from natural ore normally processed at a
conventional mill.
As a result, the NRC staff has been queried by representatives of the uranium recovery industry
and uranium water treatment suppliers/operators about the potential for licensed uranium
recovery facilities to accept and process ULR generated by drinking water treatment facilities
because the ULR can be processed in an ISR operator's existing ion exchange recovery circuit.
However, in the absence of the clarification provided by this RIS, the ISR uranium recovery
facility would be required to submit, and have the NRC approve, an amendment to its NRC
license prior to receiving and processing such resins. An amendment would be required
because without this clarification these resins would be considered an alternate feed, despite
the fact that such resins are chemically and physically essentially the same as those resins
currently used at ISR facilities during uranium recovery operations.
SUMMARY OF ISSUE
Currently, the only options for the disposition of ULR generated from operations other than
licensed uranium recovery operations (i.e., treating drinking water sources and mine
dewatering) are processing as alternate feed at a mill or disposal in landfills permitted under
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or licensed by the NRC or an
Agreement State. Under past interpretations of RIS 00-23, a license amendment would be
required for an NRC-licensed uranium recovery facility to accept ULR resulting from
treatment of community water supplies. The staff has determined that this interpretation
lacks technical integrity, does not reflect present day operating practices in the uranium
recovery industry and is not consistent with the Commission's intent in issuing RIS 00-23.
In particular, the NRC staff has determined that NRC and Agreement State-licensed
uranium recovery facilities should be permitted to accept these ULR as equivalent feed
without the need for a license amendment so long as the receiving facility can demonstrate
the ULR meets the equivalent feed criteria (i.e., it is physically and chemically essentially the
same as the resin being processed at the facility, can be processed on the current
equipment at the facility, processing the equivalent feed is within the facilities' existing safety
and environmental review envelope, and the processing does not exceed the license's
uranium production limit).
The basis for the staffs position relates to the original intent of RIS 00-23. The RIS 00-23 and
the underlying Commission decision was intended to address a concern that without restrictions
on the processing of material other than natural ore, a conventional uranium recovery mill could
process any material containing uranium and dispose the waste in the "tailings pile."4 Thus,
4 See page A2 of SECY-99-011, Draft Rulemaking Plan: Domestic Licensing of Uranium and Thorium
Recovery Facilities-Proposed New 10 CFR Part 41, and SECY-09-012, Use of Uranium Mill Tailings
Impoundments for the Disposal of Waste Other than 11 e.(2) Byproduct Material and Reviews of
RIS 2012-06
Page 4 of 7
material very dissimilar to the material normally processed at a conventional mill would be
processed largely to allow disposal as lle.(2) byproduct material. In the case of ULR, the
concern addressed in RIS 00-23 is not at issue. For example, ULRs are physically and
chemically essentially the same as resins used to extract uranium at an in-situ recovery facility
and the resulting processing and waste products would be the same as those associated with
normal in-situ uranium recovery operations. Also similar to ISR resin, ULR from the CWS water
treatment, mine dewatering, and other uranium recovery facilities is designed to only capture
uranium and not other hazardous constituents.
Consequently, in this guidance, the staff is defining the term "equivalent feed" to apply to those
circumstances where the feed material is essentially the same chemically and physically as the
source material that is normally processed at a uranium recovery facility. Such material should
not to be considered as alternative feed requiring license amendments as described in
RIS 00-23 if it meets the equivalent feed criteria articulated in this RIS. Equivalent feed can
originate at a CWS or mine dewatering operation. In addition, equivalent feed can also include
ULR originating from another licensed uranium recovery facility. However, it should be noted
that processing of these ULRs for source material would need to occur before any waste would
be considered as 1le.(2) byproduct material.
To constitute equivalent feed, the ULR must be chemically and physically essentially the same
to that which is currently used at the licensed uranium recovery facility and must not result in
additional waste streams or risks not assessed during the process of licensing the receiving
uranium recovery facility. For example, a typical uranium treatment resin for drinking water (Z-
920) is produced by Lanxess (also known as Sybron Chemicals). The Z-920 resin is
essentially the same in composition and function to the Dow 21K resin, the typical ion exchange
resin used at most uranium recovery facilities. A comparison of the product information of Z-
92® resin to that of Dow 21K resin indicates the following:
Both are a strong-base, Type I anion exchange resin;
The composition of both is divinylbenzene (dvb) styrene;
The functional group of both is a quarternary amine;
The physical form of both is resin beads with essentially the same bulk weight, color,
and amine odor;
The Z-920 resin is available in a similar bead-size range to that of Dow 21K;
Water Remediation Technologies, Inc. identifies the Z-920 resin as selective for
uranium; the Dow 21K resin is also selective for uranium.
The primary difference between the Z-920 and the typical uranium recovery IX resin is that the
water treatment resin is marked and packaged specifically for use in potable water systems and,
therefore, undergoes an additional step of the Water Quality Association testing for certification
to ANSI/NSF Standard 61.
Applications to process Materials Other than Natural Uranium Ores, available at
htto://www.nrc.goviread inb-rm/doc-collections/commission/secvs/1999/)
RIS 2012-06
Page 5 of 7
An example for mine dewatering would be Kennecott Uranium Company. Upon staff inquiry,
Kennecott Uranium Company stated that its mine dewatering resin is the Dow 21K resin that is
discussed above, which is the same resin used at ISR facilities. Therefore, the staff determined
that mine dewatering resins, like loaded resins from CWSs, can be more appropriately classified
as equivalent feed when they are sent for processing at a uranium recovery facility.
Given that ULRs from a CWS and resins from mine dewatering processes are physically and
chemically essentially the same as those resins processed at a uranium recovery facility; the
staff sees no basis for requiring that uranium recovery operators with a NRC or Agreement
State licensed resin processing plant obtain a license amendment to process this essentially
same material. The same process is also used for eluting or recovering uranium from water
treatment and resins used in the uranium recovery industry. Therefore, the NRC staff
determined that water treatment resins and resins from mine dewatering processes should be
defined as equivalent feed if the ULR from these sources meet the equivalent feed criteria.
Thus, the processing of equivalent feed at a licensed facility will not require an amendment to
an existing license so long as the existing license uranium production limits are not exceeded,
the processing is within the existing safety and environmental review envelope, and the ULR
would be processed using existing equipment at the receiving facility. This analysis would also
be applicable to any other sources of ULR not specifically addressed in this RIS, as long as the
resins meet all the equivalent feed criteria.
In a similar fashion to ULRs originating from a CWS or mine dewatering operation, ULRs from
another licensed uranium recovery facility can also be treated as equivalent feed if it meets the
above mentioned criteria. As such, processing of this equivalent feed will not require an
amendment to an existing NRC license so long as the existing limits on production of uranium in
the license are not exceeded, the processing is within the existing safety and environmental
review envelope, and the ULR would be processed using existing equipment at the facility.
After processing the equivalent feed, the spent resin can be disposed as byproduct material in
the same manner as the resin used in the primary uranium recovery activity. Disposal sites
could either be existing mill tailings impoundments or other disposal facilities licensed by the
NRC or Agreement States. No additional disposal requirements are necessary. This approach
benefits our National interest by recovering a valuable resource and the environment by
providing additional options such as recycling and reuse instead of disposal for this material.
Alternately, the stripped resin may be disposed as byproduct material or returned to the water
treatment facility, a mine dewatering facility, or a licensed uranium recovery facility for reuse.
Reuse of IX resin is a standard uranium recovery industry practice that reduces operating
expenses as well as the volume of waste sent to disposal. Therefore, the reuse of IX resin by
water treatment or mine dewatering facilities is consistent with current Commission policies and
industry practices. This provides an economic benefit to the treatment facilities (particularly
CWSs) by reducing operating costs and the amount of resin requiring disposal.
Enclosure 1 to this RIS offers additional information, which addressees may find useful, about
uranium recovery processing of equivalent feed. Enclosure 2 contains procedures which the
NRC finds satisfactory for accepting equivalent feed.
RIS 2012-06
Page 6 of 7
BACKFIT DISCUSSION
This RIS requires no action or written response. Any action that addressees take to implement
changes or procedures in accordance with the information contained in this RIS ensures
compliance with current regulations, is strictly voluntary, and, therefore, is not a backfit under
any of the backfitting provisions contained in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) 50.109, 70.76, 72.62, 76.76, or the issue finality provision of 10 CFR Part 52.
Consequently, the staff did not perform a backfit analysis.
FEDERAL REGISTER NOTIFICATION
A notice of opportunity for public comment on this RIS was published in the Federal Register
(76 FR 60942) on September 30, 2011, for a 30 day comment period. Comments were
received and considered in finalizing this RIS.
CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT
This RIS is a rule as designated in the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808).
The Office of Management and Budget has determined that this RIS is not a major rule.
RELATED GENERIC COMMUNICATIONS
RIS 00-23, "Recent Changes to Uranium Recovery Policy."
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT
This RIS references information collection requirements that are subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). These information collection requirements
were approved by the Office of Management and Budget, approval numbers 3150-0020.
PUBLIC PROTECTION NOTIFICATION
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a request for
information or an information collection requirement unless the requesting document displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
RIS 2012-06
Page 7 of 7
CONTACT
This RIS requires no specific action or written response. If you have any questions about this
summary, please contact the technical contact listed below.
/RA/
Larry W. Camper, Director
Division of Waste Management
and Environmental Protection
Office of Federal and State Materials
and Environmental Management Programs
Technical Contact: Ted Carter, DWMEP/MDB
[phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Enclosures:
1. Uranium Recovery Processing of
Equivalent Feed: Additional Information
2. Procedure for Accepting Equivalent Feed
3. Responses to Comments on the Policy
Regarding Submittal of Amendments for
Processing of Equivalent Feed at
Licensed Uranium Recovery Facilities
4. FSME Recently Issued Generic Communications
RIS 2012-06
Page 7 of 7
CONTACT
This RIS requires no specific action or written response. If you have any questions about this
summary, please contact the technical contact listed below.
/RA/
Larry W. Camper, Director
Division of Waste Management
and Environmental Protection
Office of Federal and State Materials
and Environmental Management Programs
Technical Contact: Ted Carter, DWMEP/MDB
[phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Enclosures:
1. Uranium Recovery Processing of
Equivalent Feed: Additional Information
2. Procedure for Accepting Equivalent Feed
3. Responses to Comments on the Policy
Regarding Submittal of Amendments for
Processing of Equivalent Feed at
Licensed Uranium Recovery Facilities
4. FSME Recently Issued Generic Communications
ML120890102
Office DWMEP FSME OGC DWMEP DWMEP
Name TCarter AMcl ntosh JOImstead SAchten PMichalak
Date 02/3/12 02/10/12 03/29/12 03/29/12 03/30/12
Office DWMEP OIS OE DWMEP
Name KMcConnell TDonnell NHilton LCamper
Date 4/03 /12 4/09 /12 4 /16 /12 04/16 /12
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
RIS 2012-06
Enclosure 1
Uranium Recovery Processing of Equivalent Feed: Additional Information
Processing as equivalent feed, the uranium loaded resins (URL) from water treatment plants,
mine dewatering operations or other uranium recovery facilities (e.g. in-situ recovery (ISR) or
conventional mills/heap leach facilities with ion exchange circuits) results in a lower overall
environmental impact and is the preferred option when compared to disposal of these resins in
a Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA)-permitted landfill or NRC and Agreement
State licensed landfill. Transportation impacts for the facility producing the URL are similar
since in either option, the resin is trucked to an isolated location away from population centers
(RCRA-permitted or NRC/Agreement State licensed landfill or a uranium recovery facility).
Although disposal of equivalent feed in a lined RCRA-permitted landfill or NRC/Agreement State
licensed landfill provides short term isolation of the URL, the long term environmental and
financial liability associated with potential landfill failure coupled with the societal benefit of
putting the uranium into the nuclear fuel cycle results in uranium recovery facility processing of
equivalent feed, such as uranium-loaded water treatment and mine dewatering resin, as the
preferred environmental option.
Processing water treatment resins as equivalent feed provides a significant cost benefit to small
Community Water Systems. For these small water treatment operators, disposal at RCRA-
permitted or NRC/Agreement State licensed landfills is cost prohibitive. Although, at this time, it
is not possible to know the exact financial arrangements between the water treatment and
uranium recovery facilities with respect to the processing of equivalent feed, it is reasonable to
assume that the financial arrangements would be significantly more beneficial to the small water
treatment operators than landfill disposal.
RIS 2012-06
Enclosure 2
Procedures for Accepting Equivalent Feed
In situ recovery (ISR), conventional mills, or heap leach facilities with NRC or Agreement State
licensed resin processing plants, may accept equivalent feed, as defined in this regulatory issue
summary, without a license amendment. The licensee should document that the received
uranium loaded resins (ULRs) meet the equivalent feed criteria by being: (1) chemically and
physically essentially the same as the resins processed at the facility; (2) using existing
equipment, processed the same way as the resins processed at the facility; and (3) processing
the equivalent feed material does not exceed the uranium production limits in the license and
stays within the existing safety and environmental review envelope for the facility. The NRC
inspectors will review this documentation during the inspection process to verify that the
received ULR meet the equivalent feed criteria such that the licensee's processing of the
material can be considered consistent with their license.
Following elution of the ULR equivalent feed (i.e., removal of the uranium from the treatment
resin), the resulting stripped resin can take two paths. Since the NRC is allowing equivalent
feed to be processed at uranium recovery facilities, the wastes associated with processing
equivalent feed (i.e., stripped resin) can be considered byproduct material, as defined in Title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 40. Therefore, these wastes could be disposed of at
an NRC-licensed facility without further documentation. Alternatively, the stripped resin may be
returned to a water treatment facility, a mine dewatering facility or a licensed uranium recovery
facility for reuse. Reuse of IX resin is a standard uranium recovery industry practice that
reduces operating expenses as well as the volume of waste sent to disposal. Therefore, the
reuse of IX resin by water treatment or mine dewatering facilities is consistent with current
Commission policies and industry practices. Spent resin that can no longer be re-used in the
IX process is considered 1le.(2) byproduct material and must be disposed in accordance with
NRC regulations.