Regulatory standards for permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
This paper provides a summary of observations drawn from twenty years of personal experience in working with regulatory criteria for the permanent disposal of radioactive waste for both the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant repository for transuranic defense waste and the proposed Yucca Mountain repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level wastes. Rather than providing specific recommendations for regulatory criteria, my goal here is to provide a perspective on topics that are fundamental to how high-level radioactive waste disposal regulations have been implemented in the past. What are the main questions raised relevant to long-term disposal regulations? What has proven effective in the past? Where have regulatory requirements perhaps had unintended consequences? New regulations for radioactive waste disposal may prove necessary, but the drafting of these regulations may be premature until a broad range of policy issues are better addressed. In the interim, the perspective offered here may be helpful for framing policy discussions.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 1024440
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2010-5820C
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Past Approaches for Spent Nuclear Fuel, Transuranic, and High-Level Waste Disposal in the United States—Part 2: Siting Process, Staged Development, and Public Preferences
Past Approaches for Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level, and Transuranic Waste Disposal in the United States—Part 1: Safety Criteria and Treatment of Uncertainty