A method is presented for determining the relative favorability<br/>of geologically complex areas for isolating high-level<br/>radioactive wastes. In applying the method to the northeastern region<br/>of the United States, seismieity and tectonic activity were the<br/>screening criteria used to divide the region into three areas of<br/>increasing seismotectonic risk. The following criteria, specified by<br/>the U.S.

This report describes the first phase in evaluating the<br/>geology and hydrology of the Basin and Range Province for<br/>potential suitability of geohydrologic environments for isolation<br/>of high-level radioactive waste.

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 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.

Beginning with the role of "stakeholders" - those whose interests are, knowingly or unknowingly, affected - in the siting of noxious facilities, this paper seeks to develop principles for acceptable and democratically arrived at polices related to problems associated with advances in and products of science and technology. Although widely regarded as a necessary condition for success, the principles underpinning stakeholder involvement, such as representativeness, are often violated in practice.

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.

Presented to Blue Ribbon Commission on America&#39;s Nuclear Future

Comments by John Greeves, Former Director, Division of Waste Management, NRC, presented to BRC Disposal Subcommittee

This report provides an overview of the scope and status of the U.S. Department of Energy&#39;s (DOE&#39;s) Salt Repository Project (SRP) at the time when the project was terminated by the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987. The report can be used as a &quot;roadmap&quot; into the 10-year program of siting a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste in rock salt formations. Its purpose is to aid persons interested in the information developed during the course of this effort.

Presented to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America&#39;s Nuclear Future Subcommittee on Disposal

The Blue Ribbon Commission on America_s Nuclear Future (BRC) was formed by the Secretary<br>of Energy at the request of the President to conduct a comprehensive review of policies for<br>managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and recommend a new strate

Final 40 CFR 40 Ruling on Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel , High-Level and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes

The purpose of this study is to assist decision makers in evaluating the centralized interim<br>storage option. We explore the economics of centralized interim storage under a wide variety of<br>circumstances. We look at how a commitment to move forward with centralized interim storage<br>today could evolve over time. And, we evaluate the costs of reversing a commitment toward<br>centralized storage if it turns out that such a decision is later considered a mistake.

This report aims to clarify the dynamics of socio-technical challenges in the implementation of geological disposal (GD) for High Level Waste (HLW) and Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF). Drawing on the 14 country reports produced within InSOTEC’s WP1 the synthesis focuses on socio-technical challenges that appear across national contexts. The synthesis report elucidates issues made visible through bringing together the analyses of different national contexts.

The principal factors that affected the scope of scientific investigations at Yucca Mountain over the last 20 years included both regulatory and technical aspects. Examples of regulatory factors include the regulations themselves as well as the associated quality assurance requirements. Examples of technical factors include the repository and waste package designs, new information that affected the post-closure safety basis, and technical reviews from peers, stakeholders and the regulators.

The purpose of this document is to provide a summary of the environmental impact statement for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) project. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the WIPP was published by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in April 1979. This document was reviewed and commented on by members of the general public, private organizations, and governmental agencies. The Final Environmental Impact Statement was subsequently published in October, 1980.

This report explores how 13 nations are carrying out efforts to find a permanent solution for isolating and containing high-level radioactive waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) generated within their borders Many forces shape how those efforts are designed and implemented Some of the forces are technical, including choices made about what reactor technology to adopt and about what nuclear fuel cycle to pursue.

This record of siting a geologic repository for high-level radioactive wastes (HL W) and spent fuel describes the many investigations that culminated on Demnber 22, 1987 in the designation of Yucca Mountain (YM), as the site to tmdergo detailed geologic characterization. It recounts the important issues and events that have been instrmnenta1 in shaping the course of siting over the last three and one half decades. In this long task, which was initiated in 1954, more than 60 regions, areas, or sites involving nine different rock types have been investigated.

The U.S. Geological Survey&#39;s program for geologic and hydrologic evaluation of physiographic provinces to identify areas potentially suitable for locating repository sites for disposal of high-level nuclear wastes was announced to the Governors of the eight States in the Basin and Range Province on May 6, 1981. Representatives of Arizona, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, were invited to cooperate with the Federal Government in the evaluation process.