Closing the nuclear option: scenarios for societal change. [Monograph]

Book · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

OSTI ID:6470041

Copulos, M R

On November 8, 1976, the Natural Resources Defense Council petitioned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, requesting that the Commission hold hearings for the purpose of making a definitive determination that nuclear wastes could be disposed of safely. NRDC also requested that until such a determination was made the Commission ''...refrain from acting finally to grant pending or future requests for reactor operating licenses...'' On June 27, 1977, the Commission denied NRDC's petition. As a result, on November 7th of that year, NRDC filed suit in the Second Circuit Court asking the court to reverse the Commission's decision and require ''...the agency to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether radioactive wastes generated by commercial nuclear reactors can be and will be disposed of safely, prior to reactor licensing....'' The consequences of the most likely outcome of this litigation is examined to estimate our nation's future ability to provide electricity to its people. Capability margins were chosen as the primary indicator of overall reliability of the bulk power generation system. Four scenarios were used in the examination: (1) assumes shutdown is complete but that coal production meets it current targets; (2) assumes that the shutdown only affects plants scheduled to come on line after 1978, and again, no problems in meeting stated coal-conversion goals; (3) examines the possible slower growth of coal caused by existing institutional constraints; and (4) combines this possibility with a post-1978 nuclear moratorium. (MCW)

• OSTI ID: 6470041
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

055000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Safeguards
Inspection
& Accountability
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210700 -- Nuclear Power Plants-- Regulation & Licensing
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290600* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CLEAN AIR ACT
COAL
DECISION MAKING
ELECTRIC POWER
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY SUPPLIES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
IMPLEMENTATION
INDUSTRY
LAWS
LICENSING
MANAGEMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR INDUSTRY
POLLUTION LAWS
POWER
POWER GENERATION
PRODUCTION
RADIATION HAZARDS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
REACTOR LICENSING
REACTOR SAFETY
REACTOR SHUTDOWN
REGULATIONS
RISK ASSESSMENT
SAFETY
SHUTDOWNS
SITE SELECTION
US NRC
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT