United States high-level radioactive waste management program: Current status and plans

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:5959691

Williams, J ^[1]

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1. Department of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)

The inventory of spent fuel in storage at reactor sites in the United States is approximately 20,000 metric tons heavy metal (MTHM). It is increasing at a rate of 1700 to 2100 MTHM per year. According to current projections, by the time the last license for the current generation of nuclear reactors expires, there will be an estimated total of 84,000 MTHm. No commercial reprocessing capacity exists or is planned in the US. Therefore, the continued storage of spent fuel is required. The majority of spent fuel remains in the spent fuel pools of the utilities that generated it. Three utilities are presently supplementing pool capacity with on-site dry storage technologies, and four others are planning dry storage. Commercial utilities are responsible for managing their spent fuel until the Federal waste management system, now under development, accepts spent fuel for storage and disposal. Federal legislation charges the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) within the US Department of Energy (DOE) with responsibility for developing a system to permanently dispose of spent fuel and high level radioactive waste in a manner that protects the health and safety of the public and the quality of the environment. We are developing a waste management system consisting for three components: a mined geologic repository, with a projected start date of 2010; a monitored retrievable storage facility (MRS), scheduled to begin waste acceptance in 1998; and a transportation system to support MRS and repository operations. This paper discusses the background and framework for the program, as well as the current status and plans for management of spent nuclear fuel at commercial utilities; the OCRWM's development of a permanent geologic repository, an MRS, and a transportation system; the OCRWM's safety approach; the OCRWM's program management initiatives; and the OCRWM's external relations activities.

• OSTI ID: 5959691
• Report Number(s): CONF-920414--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Journal Volume: 65
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Management
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290600 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
STORAGE
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
US MRS PROJECT
USA
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
WASTES