Federal Policy for the Disposal of Highly Radioactive Wastes from Commercial Nuclear Power Plants

How to dispose of highly radioactive wastes from commercial nuclear power plants is a question that has remained unresolved in the face rapidly changing technological, economic, and political requirements. In the three decades following WWII, two federal agencies -- the Atomic Energy Commission and the Energy Research and Development Administration -- tried unsuccessfully to develop a satisfactory plan for managing high level wastes. The history of their efforts, beginning with debates in the Atomic Energy Commission in 1949, reveals one fact of paramount importance: despite changes in terminology and situations, the policy issues related to nuclear waste disposal which the DOE faces today are strikingly similar to those tackled by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1955 and inherited by ERDA in 1975. Significantly, the fundamental questions have endured for almost two decades: What should be the federal role in managing the reprocessing of spent fuel from commercial power reactors? How should nuclear wastes be processed and in what form for ultimate disposal? What processing requirements are necessary to protect the public health and safety?
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