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Measures of Geologic Isolation
Measures of Geologic Isolation
Isolation in a geologic setting has been the generally favored solution to the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) problem since a scientific basis for nuclear waste management began to be formulated over half a century ago. Although general features of suitable settings have been enumerated, quantitative measures of the safety of geologic isolation of HLW are challenging to devise and to implement.
Comments to BRC Subcommittee Meeting
Comments to BRC Subcommittee Meeting
Nuclear Waste Disposal: Alternatives to Yucca Mountain
Nuclear Waste Disposal: Alternatives to Yucca Mountain
Congress designated Yucca Mountain, NV, as the nation’s sole candidate site for a permanent high-level nuclear waste repository in 1987, following years of controversy over the site-selection process. Over the strenuous objections of the State of Nevada, the Department of Energy (DOE) submitted a license application for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository in June 2008 to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Results of Staff Review of Topical Report on Extreme Erosion
Results of Staff Review of Topical Report on Extreme Erosion
Nuclear Waste Policy: How We Got Here
Nuclear Waste Policy: How We Got Here
Response to Comments - Amendments to the Public Health and Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada, 40 CFR Part 197 Final Rule
Response to Comments - Amendments to the Public Health and Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada, 40 CFR Part 197 Final Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has promulgated amendments to its public health and safety standards for radioactive material stored or disposed of in the potential repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada (40 CFR Part 197). Section 801 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 [(EnPA, Public Law 102-486, 42 U.S.C. § 10141 n. (1994)] directed EPA to develop these standards.
CRS Report for Congress, EPA's Final Health and Safety Standard for Yucca Mountain
CRS Report for Congress, EPA's Final Health and Safety Standard for Yucca Mountain
On September 30, 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the long-awaited revision to its 2001 Public Health and Safety Standard for the proposed Yucca Mountain deep geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. While the issuance of the standard allows the Nuclear<br/>Regulatory Commission (NRC) to issue its final conforming standards and move forward toward a final license decision for the facility, EPA’s standard raises several unprecedented regulatory issues and is likely to be further challenged in court.
Should High-Level Nuclear Waste be Disposed of at Geographically Dispersed Sites?
Should High-Level Nuclear Waste be Disposed of at Geographically Dispersed Sites?
Consideration of the technical feasibility of Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the site for a high-level nuclear<br/>waste repository has led to an intense debate regarding the economic, social, and political impacts of the<br/>repository.
General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories-Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR)
General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories-Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR)
Docket Number RW-RM-96-100, General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories-Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR)
Identifying remaining socio-technical challenges at the national level: USA
Identifying remaining socio-technical challenges at the national level: USA
This report contributes to the InSOTEC research programme’s Work Package 1.1 that maps remaining socio-technical challenges to the implementation of geological disposal of radioactive waste across fourteen countries in the EU and North America (www.insotec.eu). The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the current situation of geological disposal of High Level radioactive Waste (HLW) and Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) in the USA.
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste: Volume IV - Lessons Learned
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste: Volume IV - Lessons Learned
The effective termination of the Yucca Mountain program by the U.S. Administration in 2009 has further delayed the construction and operation of a permanent disposal facility for used fuel and high level radioactive waste (HLW) in the United States. In concert with this decision, the President directed the Energy Secretary to establish the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future to review and provide recommendations on options for managing used fuel and HLW.
Joint Resolution, Approving the site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the development of a repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
Joint Resolution, Approving the site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the development of a repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
Joint Resolution, Approving the site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the development of a repository<br/>for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, pursuant<br/>to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
Revisiting America's Nuclear Waste Policy
Revisiting 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 off ers specifi c recommendations to the Obama Administration and the
U.S. Congress.
Two weeks aft er the 2008 presidential election, the Institute released dozens of energy policy recommendations for
the incoming administration and 111th Congress. Ten recommendations focused on committing to and expanding
Consolidated Interim Storage of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel
Consolidated Interim Storage of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel
Approximately 54,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel are stored at operating nuclear power
plants and several decommissioned power plants throughout the country. Spent fuel
storage at these sites was never intended to be permanent. The current Federal plan is to
place the fuel in a repository for permanent disposal in Nevada at Yucca Mountain.
Recently, appropriations committees in Congress suggested building one or more Federal
sites for consolidated interim storage of spent fuel. Several reasons were identified. The
T&MSS Implementation Plan for Developing and Implementing a Method for Early Evaluation of Site Suitability
T&MSS Implementation Plan for Developing and Implementing a Method for Early Evaluation of Site Suitability
This Implementation Plan provides the scope, schedule, and funding needed to develop and implement a method for early evaluation of site suitability. The following is the sequence of events which resulted in the preparation of this implementation plan:<br/>1. On December 24, 1990, John W. Bartlett, Director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), transmitted guidance to Carl P. Gertz, Associate Director of the Office of Geologic Disposal (OGD), to develop an OGD Plan for this effort. <br/>2.
Yucca Mountain - Nevada's Perspective
Yucca Mountain - Nevada's Perspective
Yucca Mountain—that barren rise in the desert ninety miles from Las Vegas—is the nation‘s only site identified for the potential location of the first ge ological repository for commercially-generated HLNW and SNF. Many assume
that Yucca Mountain has geologic and climatic qualities that make it uniquely
suitable to isolate the thousands of metric tons of the world‘s most lethal, long lived waste currently accumulating at 104 operating nuclear power plants across the United States.
Unfortunately, Yucca Mountain is an exceptionally bad site,
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste: Volume III - Review of National Repository Programs
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste: Volume III - Review of National Repository Programs
The effective termination of the Yucca Mountain program by the U.S. Administration in 2009 has left the U.S. program for management of used fuel and high level radioactive waste (HLW) in a state of uncertainty.
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
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste: Volume II--U.S. Regulations for Geologic Disposal
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste: Volume II--U.S. Regulations for Geologic Disposal
U.S. efforts to site and construct a deep geologic repository for used fuel and high level radioactive waste (HLW) proceeded sporadically over a three-decade period from the late 1950s until 1982, when the U.S. Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) codifying a national approach for developing a deep geologic repository. Amendment of the NWPA in 1987 resulted in a number of dramatic changes in direction for the U.S. program, most notably the selection of Yucca Mountain as the only site of the three remaining candidates for continued investigation.
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.