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.
RD&D Programme 2007 presents SKB’s plans for research, development and demonstration during<br/>the period 2008–2013. The plans for the first three-year period are for natural reasons more detailed<br/>than those for the next one.
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'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.
In an international perspective, Sweden has come a long way in the development of safe and accepted systems for the management and disposal of radioactive waste. <br/><br/>A complete system for sea transport of spent nuclear fuel from the twelve Swedish nuclear reactors has been in operation since 1982. The spent nuclear fuel will be stored in CLAB for a period of about 40 years up until final disposal. The facility has been in operation since 1985. A final repository for low- and intermediate-level short-lived waste, SFR, has been in operation since April 1988.
The preceding RD&D-Programme from 2001 was concentrated on research and technology development. Research with a focus on the assessment of long-term safety was emphasized and viewpoints from previous reviews of SR 97 and RD&D-Programme 98 were dealt with in depth. SR 97 was an assessment of the long-term safety of a deep repository for spent nuclear fuel. This RD&D-Programme 2004 focuses its attention on the development of technologies for fabrication and sealing of canisters for final disposal of spent fuel.
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.
In February 1983, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories.
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.
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.
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.
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
France isn’t only a country known for its cheese… it’s also a country of nuclear power. With its 58 nuclear reactors (63,000 megawatts), producing 79% of the country’s electricity, France is arguably the world’s leader in the production of nuclear energy. It is estimated that the relative contribution of nuclear energy to power production in France will decline to 70% in 2020 - the main reason for this being governmental investments into renewable energies.
Work Package 3 (WP 3) set out to provide practical recommendations for the design and implementation of a “robust” decision-making process (DMP) in radioactive waste governance/governance of radioactive waste management (RWG).
