Final environmental impact statement: US Spent Fuel Policy. Executive summary

Technical Report · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

OSTI ID:5381867

The analysis of the environmental impacts for storage of domestic fuel shows that the impacts for the full range of alternatives considered are relatively small compared with available resources or background exposure of the population from natural radiation sources. The differences in impacts of storage of domestic fuel are attributed to the amount of fuel stored in Independent Spent Fuel Storage (ISFS) facilities, the storage time, and, to a lesser degree, the differences in spent fuel transportation. The differences between comparable alternatives of implementing the policy or not implementing the policy are small. The difference in impacts of storage of foreign fuel are attributed to the amount of fuel received under the policy and to the disposition mode analyzed. The impact of storage of foreign fuel (a small fraction of the amount of domestic fuel considered) is also small. As a result of the small differences in environmental impacts of all cases considered for foreign fuel, environmental impacts probably will not strongly influence the selection of the case that best meets US nonproliferation goals. Proliferation benefits of the various cases analyzed vary significantly. The structure and level of fee charged for storage of spent fuel will affect the degree of participation in the spent fuel storage program by utilities. However, the range of participation is within the range of alternatives analyzed in the draft EISs on storage of US and foreign fuels, for which the environmental effects were found to be relatively small. The fee computed on the basis of full recovery of government costs should not significantly affect the cost of generating nuclear power.

• Research Organization: Department of Energy, Washington, DC (USA). Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• OSTI ID: 5381867
• Report Number(s): DOE/EIS-0015(Vol.1)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
530300 -- Environmental-Social Aspects of Energy Technologies-- Environmental Impact Statements-- (-1987)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ANIMALS
CHARGES
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DATA FORMS
DOCUMENT TYPES
DOSE COMMITMENTS
DOSES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FUELS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
IMPLEMENTATION
IMPORTS
INFORMATION
MAMMALS
MAN
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUMERICAL DATA
PRIMATES
RADIATION DOSES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
REACTOR MATERIALS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
SPENT FUELS
STORAGE
TABLES
USA
VERTEBRATES
VOLUME
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE