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Management of Commercial High Level and Transuranium Contaminated Radioactive Waste
Management of Commercial High Level and Transuranium Contaminated Radioactive Waste
This report summarizes the results of EPA's review of the AEC
draft environmental statement, "Management of Commercial High-Level
and Transuranium-Contaminated Radioactive Waste" (WASH-1539). The
means by which high-level and long-lived radioactive wastes are
managed constitutes one of the most important questions upon which
the public acceptability of nuclear power, with its social and economic
benefits, will be determined. While the generation of power by
nuclear means offers certain benefits from the environmental viewpoint,
Radioactive Waste Repositories and Host Regions: Envisaging the Future Together
Radioactive Waste Repositories and Host Regions: Envisaging the Future Together
The 7th Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) National Workshop and Community Visit was held on 7-9 April 2009 in Bar-le-Duc, France.
Legal Background and Questions Concerning the Federal Government’s Contractual Obligations Under the “Standard Contracts” with “Utilities”
Legal Background and Questions Concerning the Federal Government’s Contractual Obligations Under the “Standard Contracts” with “Utilities”
This Memorandum analyzes issues related to the Standard Contract between the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) and the “utilities.” Beginning with a discussion of specific provisions of the Standard Contract, this Memorandum then analyzes the status of lawsuits involving the Standard Contract, reviews issues related to on-site storage of spent fuel and HLW, and assesses the prospects for modifying the current waste-disposal regime through Federal legislation or amendments to the Standard Contract.
Confidence in the Long-term Safety of Deep Geological Repositories
Confidence in the Long-term Safety of Deep Geological Repositories
Confidence in the long-term safety of deep geological disposal, and the ways in which this
confidence can be obtained and communicated, are topics of great importance to the radioactive waste
management community.1
The technical aspects of confidence have been the subject of considerable debate, especially
the concept of model validation. It has, for example, been pointed out that it is impossible to describe
fully the evolution of an open system, such as a repository and its environment, that cannot be
Standards & Regulations for the Geologic Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Waste
Standards & Regulations for the Geologic Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Waste
This paper draws on my experience as a reviewer of the scientific programs and performance assessments of the geological repository for transuranic waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico and the proposed repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. In addition, I have served on numerous committees of the National Research Council that have addressed many aspects of nuclear waste management.
Japan’s Spent Fuel and Plutonium Management Challenges
Japan’s Spent Fuel and Plutonium Management Challenges
Japan’s spent fuel management and fuel cycle programs are now at a critical stage. Its first commercial-scale reprocessing plant, at Rokkasho Village, will soon start full-scale operation.
Managing the Nation's Commercial High-Level Radioactive Waste
Managing the Nation's Commercial High-Level Radioactive Waste
This report presents the findings and conclusions of OTA's analysis of Federal policy
for the management of commercial high-level radioactive waste. It represents a major update
and expansion of the analysis presented to Congress in our summary report, Managing
Commercial High-Level Radioactive Waste, published in April of 1982 during the
debate leading to passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA). This new
report is intended to contribute to the implementation of NWPA, and in particular to
Nuclear Waste Facility Siting and Local Opposition
Nuclear Waste Facility Siting and Local Opposition
On the historic evidence, but also for the distinctive qualities of the challenge, nuclear waste siting conflicts are assuredly among the most refractory in the large variety of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) facility siting disputes. Since the president brought the Yucca Mountain process to a halt in 2010 (or, more accurately, issued its death certificate), the search for a permanent waste fuel repository is at the starting line again.
Internationalization of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Goals, Strategies, and Challenges
Internationalization of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Goals, Strategies, and Challenges
Following the proposals for nuclear fuel assurance of International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, former Russian President Vladimir V.
Putin, and U.S. President George W. Bush, joint committees of the Russian Academy of
Sciences (RAS) and the U.S. National Academies (NAS) were formed to address these and other
fuel assurance concepts and their links to nonproliferation goals. The joint committees also
addressed many technology issues relating to the fuel assurance concepts. This report provides
Options for Developing Public and Stakeholder Engagement for the Storage and Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and High Level Waste (HLW) in the United States
Options for Developing Public and Stakeholder Engagement for the Storage and Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and High Level Waste (HLW) in the United States
This report puts forth a number of options and recommendations for how to engage
stakeholders and other members of the public in the storage and management of spent
nuclear fuel and high level waste in the United States. The options are generated from a
scientific review of existing publications proposing criteria for assessing past efforts to
engage publics and stakeholders in decision-making about risky technologies. A set of
nine principles are derived for evaluating cases of public and stakeholder engagement with
Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste
Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste
In the course of producing electrical power in light water.reactors (LWRs), the uranium
fuel accumulates fission products until the fission process is no longer efficient for power
production. At that point the fuel is removed from the reactor and stored in water basins
to allow radioactivity to partially decay before further disposition. This fuel is referred
to as "spent fuel." Although spent fuel as At is discharged from a reactor is intensely
radioactive, it has been stored safely in moderate quantities for decades. Spent fuel could
Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission DRAFT
Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission DRAFT
The Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology Subcommittee was formed to respond to the charge—set forth in the charter of the Blue Ribbon Commission—to evaluate existing fuel cycle technologies and R&D programs in terms of multiple criteria.
Assessment of Fission Product Cross-Section Data for Burnup Credit Applications
Assessment of Fission Product Cross-Section Data for Burnup Credit Applications
Past efforts by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and others have provided sufficient technical information to enable the NRC to issue regulatory guidance for implementation of pressurized-water reactor (PWR) burnup credit; however, consideration of only the reactivity change due to the major actinides is recommended in the guidance.
Identification, Description, and Characterization of Existing and Alternative Nuclear Energy Systems
Identification, Description, and Characterization of Existing and Alternative Nuclear Energy Systems
Fundamentally, a nuclear energy system uses nuclear fission to create heat, which is then available for generating electricity or other applications, including seawater desalination, heating, and production of other fuels. The nuclear energy system as currently deployed in the United States, Figure 1, consists of a number of integrated components, beginning with the natural resources required for nuclear fuel, followed by fissioning of the fuel in reactors connected to electricity generation facilities, and ending with the disposition of all wastes, including used nuclear fuel (UNF).
AN ANALYSIS OF INJURIES AT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORK SITES
AN ANALYSIS OF INJURIES AT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORK SITES
The Construction Industry Research and Policy Center (CIRPC) at the University of Tennessee was awarded a contract by the Center to Protect Workers’ Rights, under their grant program with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to analyze injuries of employees of the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) and their contractors’ working at DOE work sites. The injury data analyzed were injuries recorded in DOE’s Computerized Accident Incident Reporting System (CAIRS).
Proposed Alternative Strategy for the Department of Energy's Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program: A Task Force Report
Proposed Alternative Strategy for the Department of Energy's Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program: A Task Force Report
Over the decade since NWPA, the disposal
program's strategy, based on its interpretation of the
legislative mandate and regulatory requirements, has
sought:
• in a single large step and under a tight
schedule, to achieve the first-of-a-kind licensing
of a first-of-a-kind repository for isolating
wastes from the human environment for many
thousands of years.
• in a single large step and as rapidly as possible,
to build a full-scale repository and begin
disposing of the bulk of the nation's inventory
Civilian Nuclear Spent Fuel Temporary Storage Options
Civilian Nuclear Spent Fuel Temporary Storage Options
The Department of Energy (DOE) is studying a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for a
permanent underground repository for highly radioactive spent fuel from nuclear reactors,
but delays have pushed back the facility’s opening date to 2010 at the earliest. In the
meantime, spent fuel is accumulating at U.S. nuclear plant sites at the rate of about 2,000
metric tons per year. Major options for managing those growing quantities of nuclear spent
fuel include continued storage at reactors, construction of a DOE interim storage site near
Report to Congress on Reassessment of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program
Report to Congress on Reassessment of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program
The success of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program of the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) is critical to U.S. ability to manage and dispose of
nuclear waste safely--and to the reestablishment of confidence in the nuclear energy
option in the United States. The program must conform with all applicable standards
and, in fact, set the example for a national policy on the safe disposal of radioactive
waste.
The Secretary of Energy has recently completed an extensive review of the
Nuclear Power And Proliferation Resistance: Securing Benefits, Limiting Risk
Nuclear Power And Proliferation Resistance: Securing Benefits, Limiting Risk
Goal: Secure the Benefits, Limit the Risk
The extent to which nuclear power will be a broadly accepted option for meeting future global energy needs depends upon cost, safety, waste management and the ability to limit the associated proliferation risks. While all four considerations are important, this report exclusively examines proliferation risks.
NEI Integrated Used Nuclear Fuel Management Strategy
NEI Integrated Used Nuclear Fuel Management Strategy
The nuclear energy industry is committed to legislative reform to create a sustainable, integrated program for federal government management of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) high-level radioactive waste and commercial used nuclear fuel.
Budget and Financial Management Improvements to the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF)
Budget and Financial Management Improvements to the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF)
The paper discusses issues and options for improving the budgeting and financial management
of the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF). The issues and options would facilitate implementation of
any changes in program scope and content, or any changes in organization and management
structure. .
The three issues for possible administrative action include:
1. Instituting financial management enhancements to foster multi-year budgeting and
appropriations; combined accrual and cash budgeting; and separate capital budgeting;
Transportation and Storage Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission DRAFT
Transportation and Storage Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission DRAFT
The main question before the Transportation and Storage Subcommittee was whether the United States
should change its approach to storing and transporting spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level
radioactive waste (HLW) while one or more permanent disposal facilities are established.
To answer this question and to develop specific recommendations and options for consideration by the
full Commission, the Subcommittee held multiple meetings and deliberative sessions, visited several
Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future Draft Report to the Secretary of Energy
Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future Draft Report to the Secretary of Energy
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
Letter to President Obama - Blue Ribbon Commission
Letter to President Obama - Blue Ribbon Commission
Dear Mr. President:
At your direction, the Secretary of Energy established the Blue Ribbon Commission on
America’s Nuclear Future to review policies for managing the back end of the nuclear
fuel cycle and recommend a new strategy. We are pleased to be serving as Co‐
Chairmen of the Commission, and we are writing to you to highlight an important action
we strongly believe should be reflected in your Fiscal Year 2013 baseline budget
projections.
In our draft report to the Secretary, issued in July of this year, the Commission