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EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste: Volume II --U.S. Regulations for Geologic Disposal

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

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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.

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THE REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS BY THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY ON THE NEED FOR A SECOND REPOSITORY

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended (NWPA), establishes a process for the siting, construction and operation of one or more national repositories for permanent disposal of the Nation’s spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In 1987, after the Department of Energy (the Department or DOE) had conducted studies of nine potential repository sites located throughout the United States, Congress amended the NWPA and selected the Yucca Mountain site in Nye County, Nevada as the only site for further study for the first national repository.

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REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY ON THE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ADVISORY PANEL ON ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF FINANCING AND MANAGING (AMFM) RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES

The AMFM Panel has submitted its report "Managing Nuclear
Waste - A Better Idea" to the Secretary. The report contains six
general conclusions and one general recommendation in Chapter
XII. In addition, Chapter X contains 14 specific enhancements
("Key Components of Any Waste Management Structure") that are
recommended for implementation by the Office of Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management (OCRWM) or any alternative organization.
This paper lists and discusses the 6 general conclusions, the

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Overview of the Section 180(c) Program: History, Lessons Learned, and Potential Next Steps

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is responsible, under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from point of origin to destination at a federal storage or disposal facility. Section 180(c), written into the Nuclear Waste Policy Act Amendments of 1987, requires OCRWM to prepare public safety officials along the routes for these shipments.

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Analysis of the Total System Life Cycle Cost of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program

The Analysis of the Total System Life Cycle Cost (TSLCC) of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program represents the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management's most recent estimate of the costs to dispose of the Nations's spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). This TSLCC analysis projects all Program costs through 2119 for a surrogate, single potential repository. The design and emplacement concepts in this TSLCC analysis are the same as those presented in the Monitored Geologic Repository Project Description Document.

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Proposed Alternative Strategy for the Department of Energy's Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program: A Task Force Report

Over the decade since NWPA, the disposal
program's strategy, based on its interpretation of the
legislative mandate and regulatory requirements, has
sought:
• in a single large step and under a tight
schedule, to achieve the first-of-a-kind licensing
of a first-of-a-kind repository for isolating
wastes from the human environment for many
thousands of years.
• in a single large step and as rapidly as possible,
to build a full-scale repository and begin
disposing of the bulk of the nation's inventory

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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

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