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Disposal Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission
Disposal Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission
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?”
Draft Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Summary
Draft Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Summary
The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) Program, a United States (U.S.) Department of
Energy (DOE) program, is intended to support a safe, secure, and sustainable expansion of
nuclear energy, both domestically and internationally. Domestically, the GNEP Program would
promote technologies that support economic, sustained
production of nuclear-generated electricity, while
reducing the impacts associated with spent nuclear fuel
disposal and reducing proliferation risks. DOE envisions
changing the U.S. nuclear energy fuel cycle1 from an
Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission Updated Report
Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission Updated Report
The Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology Subcommittee was formed to respond to the charge—set forth in the charter of the BRC—to evaluate existing fuel cycle technologies and R&D programs in terms of multiple criteria.
K-Infinite Trends with Burnup, Enrichment, and Cooling Time for BWR Fuel Assemblies
K-Infinite Trends with Burnup, Enrichment, and Cooling Time for BWR Fuel Assemblies
This report documents the work performed by ORNL for the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP)
M&O contractor, Framatome Cogema Fuels. The goal of this work was to obtain k values for inf
infinite arrays of flooded boiling-water-reactor (BWR) fuel assemblies as a function of various
burnup/enrichment and cooling-time combinations. These scenarios simulate expected limiting
criticality loading conditions (for a given assembly type) for drift emplacements in a repository. Upon
Summary Report of Commercial Reactor Criticality Data for McGuire Unit 1
Summary Report of Commercial Reactor Criticality Data for McGuire Unit 1
The "Summary Report of Commercial Reactor Criticality Data for McGuire Unit 1" contains the detailed information necessary to perform commercial reactor criticality (CRC) analyses for the McGuire Unit 1 reactor.
Analysis of Fresh Fuel Critical Experiments Appropriate for Burnup Credit Validation
Analysis of Fresh Fuel Critical Experiments Appropriate for Burnup Credit Validation
The ANS/ANS-8.1 standard requires that calculational methods used in determining criticality
safety limits for applications outside reactors be validated by comparison with appropriate critical
experiments. This report provides a detailed description of 34 fresh fuel critical experiments and
their analyses using the SCALE-4.2 code system and the 27-group ENDF/B-IV cross-section library.
The 34 critical experiments were selected based on geometry, material, and neutron interaction
Summary Report of Laboratory Critical Experiment Analyses Performed for the Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology
Summary Report of Laboratory Critical Experiment Analyses Performed for the Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology
This report, Summary Report of Laboratory Critical Experiment Analyses Performed for the Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology, contains a summary of the laboratory critical experiment (LCE) analyses used to support the validation of the disposal criticality analysis methodology.
SCALE-4 Analysis of Pressurized Water Reactor Critical Configurations: Volume 4-Three Mile Island Unit 1 Cycle 5
SCALE-4 Analysis of Pressurized Water Reactor Critical Configurations: Volume 4-Three Mile Island Unit 1 Cycle 5
The requirements of ANSI/ANS-8.1 specify that calculational methods for away-from-reactor
criticality safety analyses be validated against experimental measurements. If credit is to be taken for
the reduced reactivity of burned or spent fuel relative to its original "fresh" composition, it is
necessary to benchmark computational methods used in determining such reactivity worth against
spent fuel reactivity measurements. This report summarizes a portion of the ongoing effort to
Categorization of Used Nuclear Fuel Inventory in Support of a Comprehensive National Nuclear Fuel Cycle Strategy
Categorization of Used Nuclear Fuel Inventory in Support of a Comprehensive National Nuclear Fuel Cycle Strategy
The Department of Energy’s Office of Fuel Cycle Technologies (FCT) in the Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) has conducted a technical review and assessment of the total current inventory [~70,150 MTHM (metric ton of heavy metal) as of 2011] of domestic discharged used nuclear fuel (UNF) and estimated that up to ~1700 MTHM of existing commercial UNF should be considered for retention to support research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) needs and national security interests.
Sensitivity and Parametric Evaluations of Significant Aspects of Burnup Credit for PWR Spent Fuel Packages
Sensitivity and Parametric Evaluations of Significant Aspects of Burnup Credit for PWR Spent Fuel Packages
Spent fuel transportation and storage cask designs based on a burnup credit approach must
consider issues that are not relevant in casks designed under a fresh-fuel loading assumption. For
example, the spent fuel composition must be adequately characterized and the criticality analysis
model can be complicated by the need to consider axial burnup variations. Parametric analyses are
needed to characterize the importance of fuel assembly and fuel cycle parameters on spent fuel
Project Opalinus Clay Safety Report: Demonstration of disposal feasibility for spent fuel, vitrified high-level waste and long-lived intermediate-level waste (Entsorgungsnachweis)
Project Opalinus Clay Safety Report: Demonstration of disposal feasibility for spent fuel, vitrified high-level waste and long-lived intermediate-level waste (Entsorgungsnachweis)
This report presents a comprehensive description of the post-closure radiological safety assess- ment of a repository for spent fuel (SF), vitrified high-level waste (HLW) from the reprocessing of spent fuel and long-lived intermediate-level waste (ILW), sited in the Opalinus Clay of the Zürcher Weinland in northern Switzerland. This assessment has been carried out as part of the technical basis for Project Entsorgungsnachweis1, which also includes a synthesis of informa- tion from geological investigations of the Opalinus Clay and a report on engineering feasibility.
Commercial Nuclear Waste: Effects of a Termination of the Yucca Mountain Repository Program and Lessons Learned
Commercial Nuclear Waste: Effects of a Termination of the Yucca Mountain Repository Program and Lessons Learned
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.
An Evaluation of the Concept of Transuranic Burning Using Liquid Metal Reactors
An Evaluation of the Concept of Transuranic Burning Using Liquid Metal Reactors
This evaluation investigates the potential benefits of separating the transuranic elements from spent reactor fuel before it is disposed of in geologic repositories. It addresses the question: Would the benefits to radioactive waste disposal justify both processing the spent fuel and deploying liquid metal reactors (LMRs) to transmute the separated transuranics?
http://www.epri.com/abstracts/Pages/ProductAbstract.aspx?ProductId=NP-7…
Nuclide Importance to Criticality Safety, Decay Heating, and Source Terms Related to Transport and Interim Storage of High-Burnup LWR Fuel
Nuclide Importance to Criticality Safety, Decay Heating, and Source Terms Related to Transport and Interim Storage of High-Burnup LWR Fuel
This report investigates trends in the radiological decay properties and changes in relative nuclide importance associated with increasing enrichments and burnup for spent LWR fuel as they affect the areas of criticality safety, thermal analysis (decay heat), and shielding analysis of spent fuel transport and storage casks. To facilitate identifying the changes in the spent fuel compositions that most directly impact these application areas, the dominant nuclides in each area have been identified and ranked by importance.
Recommendations for Addressing Axial Burnup in PWR Burnup Credit Analyses
Recommendations for Addressing Axial Burnup in PWR Burnup Credit Analyses
This report presents studies performed to support the development of a technically justifiable approach for
addressing the axial-burnup distribution in pressurized-water reactor (PWR) burnup-credit criticality
safety analyses. The effect of the axial-burnup distribution on reactivity and proposed approaches for
addressing the axial-burnup distribution are briefly reviewed. A publicly available database of profiles is
examined in detail to identify profiles that maximize the neutron multiplication factor, keff, assess its
ANS Position Statement: Interim Storage of Used or Spent Nuclear Fuel
ANS Position Statement: Interim Storage of Used or Spent Nuclear Fuel
The American Nuclear Society (ANS) supports the safe, controlled, licensed, and regulated interim
storage of used nuclear fuel (UNF) (irradiated, spent fuel from a nuclear power reactor) until disposition
can be determined and completed. ANS supports the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s)
determination that “spent fuel generated in any reactor can be stored safely and without significant
environmental impacts for at least 30 years beyond the licensed life for operation.
Innovative Stakeholder Involvement Processes in Department of Energy Programs - A Selective Accounting
Innovative Stakeholder Involvement Processes in Department of Energy Programs - A Selective Accounting
The Blue Ribbon Commission staff requested this paper cataloging innovative stakeholder involvement programs within the Department of Energy (DOE). I reviewed a variety of material on public involvement, including papers and presentations on stakeholder involvement in DOE programs, published presentations and comments to the BRC, and research reports on stakeholder and public involvement.
Managing Commercial High-Level Radioactive Waste
Managing Commercial High-Level Radioactive Waste
After more than 20 years of commercial nuclear power, the Federal Government has yet to develop a broadly supported policy for fulfilling its legal responsibility for the final isolation of high-level radioactive waste. OTA's study concludes that until such a policy is adopted in law, there is a substantial risk that the false starts, shifts of policy, and fluctuating support that have plagued the final isolation program in the past will continue.
Characteristics of Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and Other Radioactive Wastes Which May Require Long-Term Isolation, Rev. 0
Characteristics of Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and Other Radioactive Wastes Which May Require Long-Term Isolation, Rev. 0
The purpose of this report, and the information contained in the associated computerized data bases, is to establish the DOE/OCRWM reference characteristics of the radioactive waste materials that may be accepted by DOE for emplacement in the mined geologic disposal system as developed under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. This report provides relevant technical data for use by DOE and its supporting contractors and is not intended to be a policy document.
Summary Report of Commercial Reactor Criticality Data for Sequoyah Unit 2
Summary Report of Commercial Reactor Criticality Data for Sequoyah Unit 2
The "Summary Report of Commercial Reactor Criticality Data for Sequoyah Unit 2" contains the detailed information necessary to perform commercial reactor criticality (CRC) analyses for the Sequoyah Unit 2 reactor.
Assessment Report - Docket 72-1024, U.S. Department of Energy, Dry Transfer System
Assessment Report - Docket 72-1024, U.S. Department of Energy, Dry Transfer System
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) the Dry Transfer System (DTS) Topical Safety Analysis Report (TSAR) on
Disposal and Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel — Finding the Right Balance
Disposal and Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel — Finding the Right Balance
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended, established a statutory basis
for managing the nation’s civilian (or commercially produced) spent nuclear
fuel. The law established a process for siting, developing, licensing, and constructing
an underground repository for the permanent disposal of that waste.
Utilities were given the primary responsibility for storing spent fuel until it is
accepted by the Department of Energy (DOE) for disposal at a repository —
originally expected to begin operating in 1998. Since then, however, the repository
Safety and Security of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage: Public Report - Summary
Safety and Security of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage: Public Report - Summary
At the request of the U.S. Congress, the National Academies assessed the safety and
security of spent nuclear fuel stored in pools and dry casks at commercial nuclear power
plants in the United States. The public report can be viewed on the National Academies
Press website at http://books.nap.edu/catalog/11263.html.
Preliminary Site Requirements and Considerations for a Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility
Preliminary Site Requirements and Considerations for a Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility
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