Annual Capacity Report released by DOE in 1992

Annual Capacity Report published by the DOE in June 1987

This study provides results supporting the conclusion that the repository can be operated over a varying range of thermal modes and therefore temperatures. In particular, this work focused on limiting the peak, postclosure waste package surface temperature to less than 85 degrees Celsius, a possible limit due to corrosion considerations. These operating modes were compared by varying the waste package in drift spacing (0.1-2.83 meters), drift pitch (drift spacing centerline to centerline of 40-120 meters), ventilation duration (75-300 years), and ventilation efficiency (50-80%).

The purpose of this document is to establish waste acceptance technical requirements for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System (CRWMS). These requirements and functions consist of two types: (a) internal CRWMS requirements derived from the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Requirements Document (CRD) (DOE 2007a) as illustrated in Figure 1, and (b) acceptance criteria imposed by the CRWMS on spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW) delivered into the CRWMS.

The purpose of this document is to provide waste quantity and sequencing information that serves as the design basis for commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) arriving at the repository, and the information on the transportation systems that will be used to deliver this fuel. It is intended as input for waste package and repository design analyses needed to ensure that facilities are flexible enough to be capable of receiving, unloading, handling, and emplacing the amounts and types of CSNF expected for receipt under realistic bounding conditions.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended (the Act), assigns the Federal Government the responsibility for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. Section 302a of the Act authorized the Secretary to enter into contracts with the owners and generators of commercial spent nuclear fuel and or high level waste. The Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and or High Level Radioactive Waste (Standard Contract) established the contractual mechanism for the Department's acceptance and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high level waste.

At the request of the staff to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (“BRC”), we have reviewed whether certain recommendations in the BRC’s July 29, 2011 Draft Report respecting near-term actions by the Department of Energy (“DOE”) or other officers or agencies in the Executive Branch can be implemented under existing law. These recommendations relate to:
(1) Initial steps to site, license and construct consolidated interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel (“spent fuel”);

The purpose of this calculation is to simulate the processing of an incoming waste stream into waste packages, simulating the required aging as applicable, and the emplacement of the waste packages into the Yucca Mountain repository.

There are more than 250 forms of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)­owned spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Due to the variety of the spent nuclear fuel, the National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program (NSNFP) has designated nine representative fuel groups for disposal criticality analyses based on fuel matrix, primary fissile isotope, and enrichment. For each fuel group, a fuel type that represents the characteristics of all fuels in that group has been selected for detailed analysis.

There are more than 250 forms of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-owned spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Due to the variety of the spent nuclear fuel, the National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program (NSNFP) has designated nine representative fuel groups for disposal criticality analyses based on fuel matrix, primary fissile isotope, and enrichment. Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) fuel has been designated as the representative fuel for the mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel group which is a mixture of uranium and plutonium oxides.