RecyCal PDSAR

The RecyCal project proposed a co-located spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, enrichment, and borehole disposal facility in California. The facility design was developed to process approximately 500 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel annually, recover High-Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU+) for advanced reactors, and package residual high-level waste into Universal Canister System (UCS) containers for deep borehole disposal. The project addressed technical, regulatory, and safety considerations for licensing under 10 CFR Part 50, incorporating pyrochemical fluoride volatility reprocessing, on-site enrichment, and integrated waste management to reduce above-ground storage and transport risks.

My role included:

Leading drafting and technical development of responses to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Requests for Additional Information (RAIs), including:

Site layout, workforce estimates, and waste packaging/disposal rate calculations (RAI 1)

Environmental impact assessments for alternative actions (RAI 2)

Technical details of the Curio pyrochemical reprocessing flow and material-at-risk (MAR) inventory (RAI 3 & 4)

UCS canister and horizontal borehole design parameters (RAI 5)

Spent fuel inventories and transportation route planning (RAI 6)

Integrating regulatory compliance considerations for 10 CFR Parts 50, 70, 72, and 190 into safety and operations sections.

Collaborating with team members on overall report structure, ensuring consistency between technical descriptions, regulatory references, and safety analysis.

Coordinating incorporation of engineering design data, site-specific operational scenarios, and accident analysis into the licensing narrative.