The subject of this letter is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's acceptance review of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Topical Report, Evaluation of the Potentially Adverse Condition of Extreme Erosion. During the Quaternary Period' at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, dated March 1993. This review was conducted in accordance with the guidelines established in the NRC Division of High-Level Waste Management Topical Report Review Position Paper (TRPP), provided to DOE on April 7, 1993.

This white paper offers some suggestions about how to improve the process in the United States for developing facilities for geologic disposal of used nuclear reactor fuel and high-level radioactive waste. These suggestions look toward the future, and build on what I believe are the lessons that should be learned from the troubled Yucca Mountain repository project.

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 information presented in this EIA has demonstrated that the design of a repository for disposal of radioactive wastes at Yucca Mountain has evolved without having been affected by the EPA standards. The standards have been demonstrated to have no impact on repository program costs, and nominal performance for the current repository design would result in no radiation doses for more than 10,000 years. Additionally, the difference between a 25 mrem/yr dose standard and a 15 mrem/yr standard is insignificant to program costs and performance evaluations.

The Department of Energy, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, today proposes to amend its General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories. The DOE is proposing these amendments to clarify and focus the Guidelines to be used in evaluating the suitability of the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada for development as a repository.

Governor Bryant sent a letter to Pete Lyons, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy regarding the state hosting a geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel as an alternative to the Yucca Mountain repository . Although some communities may have expressed interest to DOE, Governor Bryant is opposed to hosting a repository and asks DOE to consider any state other than Mississippi.

Texas Governor Rick Perry wrote a letter to the Texas Congressional delegation regarding new solutions to the long term handling of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.

This study presents a synthesis of information and interpretations relevant to surficial processes at the Yucca Mountain Site. The report is part of the technical basis which will be used to evaluate the suitability of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a site for a mined geologic repository for the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. It provides a description of the surface characteristics, preclosure hydrology, and erosion at the Yucca Mountain Site. This report will provide the technical basis to evaluate three technical guidelines from the U.S.

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.

Site Evaluation and Management Lessons Learned from Yucca Mountain

The U.S. Department of Energy is responding to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff's comments on the topical report, "Evaluation of the Potentially Adverse Condition 'Evidence of Extreme Erosion During the Quaternary Period' at Yucca Mountain, Nevada" 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.

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

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.

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.