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Revising America's Nuclear Waste Policy
Revising America's Nuclear Waste Policy
With the first 100 days of the Obama Administration behind us, the Institute for 21st Century Energy presents this nuclear waste policy document that recounts the history of the country’s nuclear waste policy, discusses the mechanics of the issue, and offers specific recommendations to the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress.
Underlying Yucca Mountain: The Interplay of Geology and Policy in Nuclear Waste Disposal
Underlying Yucca Mountain: The Interplay of Geology and Policy in Nuclear Waste Disposal
Nuclear waste disposal in the USA is a difficult policy issue infused with science, technology, and politics. This issue provides an example of the co-production of scientific knowledge and politics through public policy. The proponents of a repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, argue that their decision to go ahead with the site is based on ‘sound science’, but the science they use to uphold their decision is influenced by politics. In turn, the politics of site selection has been altered by the scientific knowledge produced.
Regulatory History
Regulatory History
Options for Developing Public and Stakeholder Engagement for the Storage and Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and High Level Waste (HLW) in the United States
Options for Developing Public and Stakeholder Engagement for the Storage and Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and High Level Waste (HLW) in the United States
This report puts forth a number of options and recommendations for how to engage stakeholders and other members of the public in the storage and management of spent nuclear fuel and high level waste in the United States. The options are generated from a scientific review of existing publications proposing criteria for assessing past efforts to engage publics and stakeholders in decision-making about risky technologies.
Recommendation by the Secretary of Energy Regarding the Suitability of the Yucca Mountain Site for a Repository under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982
Recommendation by the Secretary of Energy Regarding the Suitability of the Yucca Mountain Site for a Repository under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982
For more than half a century, since nuclear science helped us win World War II and ring in the Atomic Age, scientists have known that the Nation would need a secure, permanent facility in which to dispose of radioactive wastes. Twenty years ago, when Congress adopted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA or "the Act"), it recognized the overwhelming consensus in the scientific community that the best option for such a facility would be a deep underground repository.
Nuclear Waste Policy Act (Section 112) - Environmental Assessment, Yucca Mountain Site, Nevada Research and Development Area, Nevada, Volume 1
Nuclear Waste Policy Act (Section 112) - Environmental Assessment, Yucca Mountain Site, Nevada Research and Development Area, Nevada, Volume 1
By the end of this century, the United States plans to begin operating the first geologic repository for the permanent disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive Waste. Public Law 97-425, the Nuclear waste Policy Act of 1982 (the Act), specifies the process for selecting a repository site, and constructing, operating, closing, and decommissioning the repository.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Public Health and Safety Standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (40 CFR Part 197) - 9072
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Public Health and Safety Standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (40 CFR Part 197) - 9072
In 2001, as directed by the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued public health and environmental radiation protection standards for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Several parties sued the Agency on a myriad of aspects of the rule. The Court ruled in EPA’s favor in all aspects of the case but one, and returned the standards to the Agency in 2004. In 2005, EPA proposed amendments to the standards. Following public hearings and a public review period, the final amendments were issued in September 2008.
Response to "Multiattribute Utility Analysis of Sites Nominated for Characterization for the First Radioactive-Waste Repository"
Response to "Multiattribute Utility Analysis of Sites Nominated for Characterization for the First Radioactive-Waste Repository"
History of Repository Regulations
History of Repository Regulations
Review of the Early Site Suitability Evaluation for the proposed Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository site
Review of the Early Site Suitability Evaluation for the proposed Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository site
In response to your request, and as a follow-up to the ACNW Working Group meeting with you and your staff on June 17, 1992, we offer the following comments on the Early Site Suitability Evaluation (ESSE) for the proposed Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository site. Our comments relate both to the ESSE, as prepared by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and to the draft review prepared by your staff.
Solving the U.S. Nuclear Waste Dilemma
Solving the U.S. Nuclear Waste Dilemma
Current U.S. nuclear waste law and policy is bankrupt. The 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) set a 1998 deadline for opening a deep geologic repository to receive spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW) from reprocessing. In 1987, Congress amended the Act to designate Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the only potential site, and severely restricted the development of any federal facility for consolidated storage of nuclear waste. Nevada’s unrelenting opposition to the Yucca repository eventually succeeded with the election of Barack Obama as President.