EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste Volume I—The U.S. Site Selection Process Prior to the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act

U.S. efforts to site and construct a deep geologic repository for used fuel and high level radioactive waste (HLW) proceeded in fits and starts over a three decade period from the late 1950s until 1982, when the U.S. Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA). This legislation codified a national approach for developing a deep geologic repository. Amendment of the NWPA in 1987 resulted in a number of dramatic changes in direction for the U.S. program, most notably the selection of Yucca Mountain as the only site of the three remaining candidates for continued investigation. This report reviews the complex history of site screening and selection prior to the NWPA Amendments in 1987 and represents one in a series of technical reports EPRI is preparing in 2010 on storage, disposal, and advanced fuel cycle issues arising in the management of used fuel and HLW.