Project Decision Schedule
Project Decision Schedule
This Project Decision Schedule (PDS) is a legislative mandate of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended (NWPA).
This Project Decision Schedule (PDS) is a legislative mandate of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended (NWPA).
The Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste is a framework for moving toward a sustainable program to deploy an integrated system capable of transporting, storing, and disposing of used nuclear fuel1 and high-level radioactive waste from civilian nuclear power generation, defense, national security and other activities.
By letter dated April 28, 2016, Waste Control Specialists, LLC (WCS) submitted a specific
license application under 10 CFR Part 72 requesting authorization to construct and operate a
Consolidated Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel and Reactor-Related Greater Than
Class C Low-Level Waste in Andrews County, Texas. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) performed an acceptance review of the application to determine if the application
contains sufficient technical information to allow the NRC staff to complete the detailed technical
WCS Presentation slides for NRC meeting held 8-22-16 to discuss the status of responses to NRC Requests for Supplemental Information.
From the Introduction: "Our strategy for development of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) transportation program is to collaborate with our stakeholders.
In July, 2016, the Electric Power Research Institute and industry partners performed a field test at the Maine Yankee Nuclear Site, located near Wiscasset, Maine. The primary goal of the field test was to evaluate the use of robots in surveying the surface of an in-service interim storage canister within an overpack; however, as part of the demonstration, dust and soluble salt samples were collected from horizontal surfaces within the interim storage system.
In July, 2014, the Electric Power Research Institute and industry partners sampled dust on the surface of an unused canister that had been stored in an overpack at the Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station for approximately one year. The foreign material exclusion (FME) cover that had been on the top of the canister during storage, and a second recently-removed FME cover, were also sampled. This report summarizes the results of analyses of dust samples collected from the unused Hope Creek canister and the FME covers.
Potentially corrosive environments may form on the surface of spent nuclear fuel dry storage canisters by deliquescence of deposited dusts. To assess this, samples of dust were collected from in-service dry storage canisters at two near-marine sites, the Hope Creek and Diablo Canyon storage installations, and have been characterized with respect to mineralogy, chemistry, and texture. At both sites, terrestrially-derived silicate minerals, including quartz, feldspars, micas, and clays, comprise the largest fraction of the dust.
Presentation made at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Extended Storage Collaboration Project (ESCP) meeting November 2016 discussing the status of nondestructive examinations being performed on high burnup (HBU) sent nuclear fuel (SNF) rods at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and proposed destructive examinations that will be performed over the next several years.
The report, Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste Inventory Report(FCRDNFST- 2013-000263, Rev.4), provides information on the inventory of commercial spent fuel, referred to in this report as used nuclear fuel (UNF), as well as Government-owned UNF and High Level Waste (HLW) in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex. Inventory forecasts for commercial UNF were made for a few selected scenarios of future commercial nuclear power generation involving the existing reactor fleet including one scenario involving reactors under construction.
This report provides an evaluation of the cost implications of incorporating a consolidated interim storage facility (ISF) into the waste management system (WMS). Specifically, the impacts of the timing of opening an ISF relative to opening a repository were analyzed to understand the potential effects on total system costs.
This report evaluates how the economic environment (i.e., discount rate, inflation rate, escalation rate) can impact previously estimated differences in lifecycle costs between an integrated waste management system with an interim storage facility (ISF) and a similar system without an ISF. The costs analyzed in this report are based on the document entitled Cost Implications of an Interim Storage Facility in the Waste Management System, a systems study comparing the “constant dollar” future lifecycle costs of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) management system scenarios.
This report documents the work of one of the most successful Federal advisory committees in the history of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) was established by EPA on September 30, 1993 to provide independent advice to the EPA Administrator on broad, cross-cutting issues related to environmental justice.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has since established the IWM, which builds on the work begun by NFST, to develop an integrated waste management system for spent nuclear fuel (SNF)a, including the development of a large-scale transportation system for the safe transport of SNF to storage or disposal facilities.
This handbook was prepared by Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Energy, under Cooperative Agreement DE-NE0000006. It does not represent the views of the Department of Energy, and no official endorsement should be inferred. This handbook is an update to the version originally released in March 2012. The authors are Kara Colton, Allison Doman and Seth Kirshenberg of ECA.
Comments on behalf of Energy Communities Alliance submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy on Draft Consent-Based Siting Process for Consolidated Storage and Disposal Facilities for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste.
Presentation slides on the Consolidated Interim Storage Facility Reference Design Concept, including site plans; handling, inspection and repackaging concepts and facilities; and cost and staffing estimates.
Engaging local stakeholders through transparent and open dialogue is pivotal for the success of nuclear projects. Engagement requires time, trust-building and adaptability as expectations evolve. In many places, communities that initially expressed scepticism or opposition have become advocates because of this engagement and better understanding of what it means to host a nuclear facility.
In October 2009, the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (Board or NWTRB) published Survey of National Programs for Managing High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel. For each of the 13 national programs studied, the report catalogued 15 institutional arrangements that had been set in place and 15 technical approaches that had been taken to design repository systems for the long-term management of high-activity radioactive waste.
Presentation at the U. S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) meeting held in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on August 29 and 30, 2023.
Presented at the U. S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) meeting held in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on August 29 and 30, 2023.
Presentation at the U. S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) meeting held in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on August 29 and 30, 2023.
The goal of this report is to communicate high-level recommendations to the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE), which if adopted, the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (Board)
members believe will support the creation of a robust, safe, and effective nuclear waste
management capability for the nation, including laying the groundwork for a successful geologic
repository. The DOE nuclear waste management program encompasses the management and
disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW), in addition to the
This report discusses the status of the commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) inventory in the United States, at both decommissioned and operating commercial nuclear power reactor sites; summarizes the contractual arrangement the government and utilities have under the Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste (10 CFR Part 961) (Standard Contract), related litigation, and the financial liabilities resulting from the Department’s delay in performance under these contracts; provides a history of interim storage policy as it relates to commercial SN
The United States makes decisions regarding the domestic uses of nuclear energy and the nuclear fuel cycle primarily based economic considerations, domestic political constraints, and environmental impact concerns. Such factors influence U.S. foreign policy decisions as well, but foreign policy decisions are often more strongly determined by national security considerations, including concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation and nuclear terrorism.