In the November 1989 Report to Congress on Reassessment of the Civilian
Radioactive Waste Management Program (DOE/RW-0247), the Secretary of Energy
announced an initiative for developing a monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facility
that is to start spent-fuel acceptance in 1998. This facility, which will be licensed by
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), will receive spent fuel from
commercial nuclear power plants and provide a limited amount of storage for this

The Disposal Subcommittee of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (BRC) addressed a wide-ranging set of issues, all bearing directly on the central question: “How can the United States go about establishing one or more disposal sites for high-level nuclear wastes in a manner and within a timeframe that is technically, socially, economically, and politically acceptable?”

With the passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), Congress for the first time established in law a comprehensive Federal policy for commercial high-level radioactive waste management, including interim storage and permanent disposal. NWPA provides sufficient authority for
developing and operating a high-level radioactive waste management system based on disposal in mined geologic repositories. Authorization

The Disposal Subcommittee of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future has
commenced to address a set of issues, all of which bear directly on the central question: “How can the
United States go about establishing one or more disposal sites for high-level nuclear wastes in a manner
and within a timeframe that is technically, socially, economically, and politically acceptable?”
To answer this question and to develop specific recommendations and options for consideration by the

The main objective of this report is to identify conditions which affect public concern (either
increase or decrease) and political acceptance for developing and implementing programmes
for geologic disposal of long-lived radioactive waste. It also looks how citizens and relevant
actors can be associated in the decision making process in such a way that their input is
enriching the outcome towards a more socially robust and sustainable solution. Finally, it
aims at learning from the interaction how to optimise risk management addressing needs and

The comparison of different nuclear fuel cycle options has become an integral element to any analysis of the future prospects for nuclear energy, in the United States and around the world. Concerns for supply security and price volatility of fossil fuels, combined with growing resolve to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, have caused a general shift in attitudes towards nuclear energy. However, there are lingering sustainability concerns for nuclear energy – long term uranium supply and environmental impact – as well as concerns about the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

America’s nuclear waste management program is at an impasse. The Obama Administration’s decision
to halt work on a repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada is but the latest indicator of a policy that has
been troubled for decades and has now all but completely broken down. The approach laid out under
the 1987 Amendments to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA)—which tied the entire U.S. high-level
waste management program to the fate of the Yucca Mountain site—has not worked to produce a

The issue of interim storage of used (spent)1 fuel is dependent on a number of key factors, some
of which are not known at this time but are the subject of this study. The first is whether or not
the Yucca Mountain Project continues or is cancelled such that it may be able to receive spent
fuel from existing and decommissioned nuclear power stations. The second is whether the United
States will pursue a policy of reprocessing and recycling nuclear fuel. The reprocessing and

The purpose of this document is to describe the Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) Project and to establish approved cost and schedule baselines against which overall progress and management effectiveness shall be measured. For the sake of brevity, this Project Plan will be referred to as the Plan throughout this document.

The purpose of this document is to provide waste quantity and sequencing information that serves as the design basis for commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) arriving at the repository, and the information on the transportation systems that will be used to deliver this fuel. It is intended as input for waste package and repository design analyses needed to ensure that facilities are flexible enough to be capable of receiving, unloading, handling, and emplacing the amounts and types of CSNF expected for receipt under realistic bounding conditions.

This vintage 1990 document presents the results of WESTON'S preliminary assessment of the feasibility of several alternative fuel-transfer and storage concepts that have the potential for early spent-fuel acceptance at an MRS facility. The feasibility study was part of a series of studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) during the late 1980's and early 1990's in an effort to establish an MRS design configuration.

DOE decided to terminate the Yucca Mountain repository program because, according to DOE officials, it is not a workable option and there are better solutions that can achieve a broader national consensus. DOE did not cite technical or safety issues. DOE also did not identify alternatives, but it did create a Blue Ribbon Commission to evaluate and recommend alternatives.

he U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulates storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from commercial nuclear power plants. An increasing amount of the SNF in storage is in dry storage systems, mostly at current and decommissioned plants. As directed by the Commission (in SRM-COMSECY-10-0007; December 6, 2010), in expectation of continued use of dry storage for extended periods of time, the NRC staff is examining the technical needs and potential changes to the regulatory framework that may be needed to continue licensing of SNF storage over periods beyond 120 years.

This briefing paper is a component of the comprehensive briefing package developed for the Negotiator, and describes previous DOE experience in its attempt to site an MRS facility. The Background section highlights, in chronological order, significant events in DOE's MRS siting history from enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to the issuance of the "Report to Congress on Reassessment of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program" in November 1989.

This letter is written by Former Wyoming Governor Mike Sullivan to inform the Fremont County Commissioners of his conclusion to decline the MRC facility.

To achieve energy security and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction objectives, the United States must develop and deploy clean, affordable, domestic energy sources as quickly as possible. Nuclear power will continue to be a key component of a portfolio of technologies that meets our energy goals. This document provides a roadmap for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) research, development, and demonstration activities that will ensure nuclear energy remains viable energy option for the United States.

This report accompanies the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Only page 44 is included in this PDF.

This paper is DOE's response to Wyoming Governor Mike Sullivan's decision to decline moving forward with hosting an MRS.

In response to Section 141 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the Department of Energy hereby submits a proposal for the construction of a facility for monitored retrievable storage (MRS). The approval of this proposal by the Congress would specifically--
• Approve the construction of an MRS facility at a site on the Clinch River in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
• Limit the storage capacity at the MRS site to 15,000 metric tons of uranium.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management prepared this document to report plans for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program, whose mission is to manage and dispose of the nation’s spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste in a manner that protects the health and safety of the public and of workers and the quality of the environment. The Congress established this program through the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (see Appendix A), though efforts to solve the waste-disposal problem go back several decades.