Progress Towards New Radioactive Waste Disposal Capacity in Texas
- Waste Control Specialists LLC, Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1700, 5430 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75240 (United States)
During the past 25 years, the development of disposal options for radioactive waste in the United States of America (USA or U.S.) has faced a multitude of challenges preventing or delaying the opening of new facilities or restricting the operation of existing facilities. At the end of 2005, there are 11 operating low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal sites; eight operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) and three operated by private entities. All of them are or soon will be restricted in terms of the LLW they can take, including restrictions based on the origin of the waste. Furthermore, despite a legal mandate dating back to 1980, none of the ten congressionally approved multi-state Compacts has developed a new LLW-disposal facility. As a result, the General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office) expressed concerns in June 2004 about the availability of disposal options for Class B and C LLW (see www.nrc.gov) for at least 34 states beyond June 2008. The following solutions are currently being discussed: 1. Allowing non-US DOE waste generators access to all existing LLW-disposal facilities. 2. Allowing non-US DOE waste generators access to US DOE's disposal facilities. 3. Providing a new waste-disposal capacity for all LLW at a facility currently operated by US DOE or by private industry on land owned by the federal government. 4. Allowing the US DOE to take ownership of commercial LLW and then dispose of it at LLW - disposal facilities operated by or available to the US DOE. In 2004 and 2005, Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS), which already operates a 5.4 square kilometer hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste treatment and storage, and hazardous and toxic waste disposal site in Andrews County, Texas, initiated the following three new initiatives that may provide timely partial solutions to the nation's radioactive waste disposal needs: 1. Applied for a LLW disposal license. 2. Applied for an 1 l e.(2) byproduct material disposal license (see www.nrc.gov). 3. Petitioned for a rulemaking on disposal in Texas of waste determined by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) to be 'exempted' from radioactive waste disposal requirements. The LLW disposal license will authorize WCS to dispose of LLW generated in Texas or Vermont, the two states in the Texas Compact, in one disposal facility and, in a separate, adjacent facility, waste generated by the federal government. Pursuant to the applicable Texas statute, the decision on WCS' LLW-disposal license application is expected no later than in December 2007. Based on this schedule, WCS projects the opening the two related near-surface LLW-disposal facilities before July 1, 2008. Although the schedules for the licensing of the 11e.(2) byproduct material disposal facility and the rulemaking on the USNRC exempt waste are not governed by a statutory-mandated schedule, based on available information at the end of 2005, WCS projects being able to dispose of 11e.(2) byproduct material in late 2006, and USNRC-exempted waste no later than in November 2006. Recognizing that the licensing of any radioactive waste disposal facility is governed not only by technical considerations but also by local acceptance and political and organizational agendas, WCS remains convinced that all three proposed WCS disposal solutions will ultimately succeed; that is, it is a question of when rather than if they will become available. This conclusion is based on: 1. The known national needs for new radioactive waste disposal capacity and enhanced security. 2. The minimal risk posed to humans and the environment due to the prevailing excellent geological and climatic conditions at the Andrews County site. 3. The extensive hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste management experience possessed by WCS. 4. The active interest, knowledgeability, and support of the local communities. 5. The degree of financial assurance provided by WCS, which exceeds requirements. 6. Confidence in State of Texas support for the national initiative to reinvigorate nuclear power in the USA. The national initiative promises to reduce energy price volatility (the adverse consequences of which the state has experienced); reduce greenhouse gas emissions; reduce national dependence on foreign energy sources; and promote economic and national security. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 13023, Tucson, AZ, 85732-3023 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21208568
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-06040; TRN: US09V0879079355
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management 2006 Symposium - WM'06 - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 26 Feb - 2 Mar 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France; 8 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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