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.

After an exhaustive review process that encompassed EPAÕs proposed rule, as presented in the Federal Register Notice, as well as the reference materials cited in that Notice, Nevada concludes that EPAÕs proposed standard is inconsistent with the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (as required by the Energy Policy Act of 1992) and the July 9, 2004 ruling of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory<br/>Commission (NRC) is proposing<br/>licensing criteria for disposal of spent<br/>nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive<br/>wastes in the proposed geologic<br/>repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.<br/>These criteria will address the<br/>performance of the repository system at<br/>Yucca Mountain, a system that must<br/>comprise both natural and engineered<br/>barriers.

Management of civilian radioactive waste has posed difficult issues for Congress since the beginning of the nuclear power industry in the 1950s. Federal policy is based on the premise that nuclear waste can be disposed of safely, but proposed storage and disposal facilities have frequently been challenged on safety, health, and environmental grounds.

The potentially adverse condition identified at 10 CFR 60.122(c)(16), evidence of extreme<br/>erosion during the Quaternary Period, has been determined to not be present at Yucca<br/>Mountain. A literature search for typical hillslope erosion rates in the U.S. and the world was<br/>performed to establish a range of typical values for erosion rates. Low to moderate erosion<br/>rates in the U.S. were identified to range from 2 to 50 centimeters per thousand years (cm/ka)<br/>in semiarid environments.

On February 14, 2002, U.S.

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.

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.

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.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations governing the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The final rule implements the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) revised standards for doses that could occur after 10,000 years, but within the period of geologic stability.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has amended the policies under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 for evaluating the suitability of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a site for development of a nuclear waste repository. The final rule at Title 10, Part 963 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 963) focuses on the criteria and methodology to be used for evaluating relevant geological and other related aspects of the Yucca Mountain site.

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.

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).

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Office (YMPO) assigned Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the Technical and Management Support Services (T&MSS) contractor to the YMPO, the task of conducting an Early Site Suitability Evaluation (ESSE) of the Yucca Mountain site as a potential site for a high-level radioactive waste repository.

The U.S. Department of Energy is responding to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff&#39;s comments on the topical report, &quot;Evaluation of the Potentially Adverse Condition &#39;Evidence of Extreme Erosion During the Quaternary Period&#39; at Yucca Mountain, Nevada&quot; and providing additional information supporting the conclusions reached in the report.

In this paper, the major elements of the site selection and characterization processes used in the U.S. high level waste program are discussed. While much of the evolution of the site selection and characterization processes have been driven by the unique nature of the U.S. program, these processes, which are well-defined and documented, could be used as an initial basis for developing site screening, selection, and characterization programs in other countries. Thus, this paper focuses more on the process elements than the specific details of the U.S. program.

This study evaluated the technical suitability of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a potential site for a mined geologic repository for the permanent disposal of radioactive waste. The evaluation was conducted primarily to determine early in the site characterization program if there are any features or conditions at the site that indicate it is unsuitable for repository development. A secondary purpose was to determine the status of<br/>knowledge in the major technical areas that affect the suitability of the site.