The Radioactive Waste Management Conference by S

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Radioactive Waste Management Conference by S Waste management The Radioactive Waste Management Conference by S. Fareeduddin and J. Hirling* Nuclear energy has been used on an industrial scale to • storage and underground disposal of radioactive generate electricity for nearly 30 years. The industry wastes: general, national concepts, underground may thus be said to have reached maturity. Problems laboratories, and designs of repositories for high-level, in the management of radioactive waste have been and low- and intermediate-level waste disposal (five resolved adequately in the past; but given increasing sessions with 35 papers); concern about long-term safety and environmental pro­ • environmental and safety assessment of waste manage­ tection they are becoming ever more crucial in the struggle ment systems: goals, methodologies, assessments for to achieve eventual acceptance of nuclear power as a geological repositories, low- and intermediate-level global, industrial source of energy. wastes, and mill tailings (four sessions with 26 papers); and It was therefore felt timely to organize earlier this year • radioactive releases to the environment from nuclear an international conference to review the entire spectrum operations: status and perspectives, environmental of issues in radioactive waste management, and their transport processes, and control of radioactive waste bearing on national nuclear power programmes. The disposal into the environment (three sessions with conference was held in Seattle, Washington, from 23 papers). 16 to 20 May. The response was gratifying, reflecting world-wide interest: it was attended by 528 participants from 29 Member States of the IAEA and eight inter­ The papers presented were selected from nearly national organizations. There were 21 sessions, at which 500 submissions. The Scientific Secretariat made con­ 149 papers including a report on the IAEA's own work siderable efforts to ensure that the many reviews that in this field were presented. An additional session was have recently been undertaken by the Agency and other given over to two panel discussions, one on prospects international organizations in specific areas of waste for further international collaboration and the other management, and of the status of waste management summarizing the results of all the technical sessions. policy and its implementation in countries using nuclear power, were discussed. In addition, it was thought The conference programme was structured to permit appropriate to include reviews of work in leading nuclear reviews and the presentation of up-to-date information countries on underground disposal of wastes, on the on five major topics: treatment and conditioning of spent fuel and wastes from • Waste management policy and its implementation: reprocessing, and on the management of tailings from national and international approaches; legal, uranium milling; and to attempt to give some perspective economic, environmental, and social aspects (four to radioactive waste management problems in comparison sessions with 27 papers from 16 countries and four with other radiological impacts of the nuclear industry, international organizations); and issues in the management of chemical wastes. About • handling, treatment, and conditioning of wastes from 70 of the papers presented were invited. nuclear facilities, nuclear power plants and repro­ cessing plants, including the handling and treatment The opening session of the conference was addressed of gaseous wastes and wastes of specific types (five by the IAEA Director General, Dr Hans Blix, and by sessions with 35 papers); representatives of the US Government and of the State of Washington. Mr M.J. Lawrence, Deputy Director of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act Project Office of the US * Mr Fareeduddin is Director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Department of Energy, said this conference was Fuel Cycle, and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the "especially appropriate and timely" as it focused on International Conference on Radioactive Waste Management. Mr Hirling is Head of the Waste Management Section of the "a challenge that the international community must Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and served as Scientific meet successfully if we are to assure the nuclear power Co-ordinator of the Conference. for all", and on "an area where close international IAEA BULLETIN, VOL.25, No.4 3 Waste management co-operation is demanded by our common interest in an a consensus, that adequate technology for the safe acceptable global environment". management of radioactive wastes is available. The tone of the conference was set by two keynote In many countries, underground facilities for the addresses, on the status of technology in waste manage­ disposal of low- and intermediate-level wastes have ment, and on major trends in research and development already been established (for example, in France, India, work in the implementation of waste management the German Democratic Republic, the USSR, UK, and programmes. The first speaker was Mr. J.A. Liebermann, USA). In these and other countries national disposal a pioneer in US waste management since the 1950s, who concepts designed to meet the long-term requirements concluded that the technology is available to enable of nuclear programmes are being developed. There is a us to locate, design, construct, and operate waste general tendency to employ land-based alternatives to management systems that meet stringent radiation pro­ the sea-dumping of nuclear wastes, though sea disposal tection requirements at acceptable costs, and that no is of continuing interest in some countries (the UK, technological breakthroughs are required. The second Japan, Belgium, Netherlands, and Switzerland). speaker was Mr J.F. Lefevre, Director of the Department of Wastes and Effluents in the Commissariat a l'Energie Socio-political issues related to waste management, Atomique, France. Both speakers recalled the long generally recognized as posing problems for the further experience and research in radioactive waste manage­ growth of nuclear power, were a reasonably common ment that now forms a solid base for implementing though perhaps not universal feature for discussion and industrial systems and specific projects. resolution. While there is a need to put the risks of radioactive waste management in a proper perspective, The Agency presented a report on the objectives, to gain public understanding and acceptance, achieving activities and results of its own waste management pro­ this objective is a difficult task which needs national gramme, with emphasis on recent developments and and international attention. collaboration with other international organizations in Available information on the economic implications relevant areas. Attention was drawn to the systematic of waste management indicates that including the full and comprehensive work that has already been done or costs of spent fuel storage and final waste disposal will is under way internationally to assist in the implementa­ increase their proportionate share in the total cost of tion of national waste management programmes and to nuclear power (figures exceeding 10% have been resolve related international issues. mentioned). The costs of waste management are charged mostly to the price of electricity, and regulations to permit this have or will become effective in Sweden Waste management policy and its implementation (2.3 mills* per kWh), USA (1 mill per kWh), the Fed. Rep. of Germany (6 mills per kWh), Switzerland (5%), The 27 papers from 16 countries and four international and so on. Though such costs are higher than had been organizations in this subject area showed that governments assumed previously, they do not seem likely to have a are aware of the need for proper and timely implementa­ serious or decisive impact on the use of nuclear power — tion of radioactive waste management systems, including and this even in countries with small nuclear programmes the definition of the related regulatory, institutional and Economics was not and will not be a major driving force financial arrangements. Policy decisions have already for simplifying or reducing conservatism in radioactive been taken in many countries. The spectrum ranges waste management systems; elaborate systems that from those which plan to expand their nuclear programmes meet long-term safety and stringent radiation protection in coming years (such as Egypt) to those whose current requirements can be afforded, even though they may not nuclear policy foresees the use of nuclear power only always be justifiable on technical grounds. until about 30 years from now (Sweden). Many countries have programmes with mandated schedules for the Some countries have set up special institutions to implementation of geological repositories for high-level implement or operate waste disposal or spent fuel wastes or spent fuels (USA), or for the selection of management systems which cannot be handled properly appropriate sites (for example, Argentina, the Fed. Rep. by the utilities themselves: for example, ONDRAF in of Germany. Sweden, Switzerland), but there are some Belgium, ANDRA in France, the SKBF in Sweden, whose policy - in effect - calls as part of an overall NAGRA in Switzerland, and NIREX in the UK. In the waste management strategy for the deferral of decisions USA, the Department of Energy has, in implementing to proceed with the construction of such repositories (UK). the Nuclear Waste Policy Act signed by President Reagan in January 1983, established a new office Some well-defined
Recommended publications
  • The Nuclear Waste Primer September 2016 What Is Nuclear Waste?
    The Nuclear Waste Primer September 2016 What is Nuclear Waste? Nuclear waste is the catch-all term for anything contaminated with radioactive material. Nuclear waste can be broadly divided into three categories: • Low-level waste (LLW), comprised of protective clothing, medical waste, and other lightly-contaminated items • Transuranic waste (TRU), comprised of long-lived isotopes heavier than uranium • High-level waste (HLW), comprised of spent nuclear fuel and other highly-radioactive materials Low-level waste is relatively short-lived and easy to handle. Currently, four locations for LLW disposal exist in the United States. Two of them, Energy Solutions in Clive, Utah and Waste Control Specialists in Andrews, Texas, accept waste from any U.S. state. Transuranic waste is often a byproduct of nuclear weapons production and contains long-lived radioactive elements heavier than uranium, like plutonium and americium. Currently, the U.S. stores TRU waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. High-level waste includes spent nuclear fuel and the most radioactive materials produced by nuclear weapons production. Yucca Mountain is the currently designated high-level waste repository for the United States. 1 | What is Spent Nuclear Fuel? Spent nuclear fuel (SNF), alternatively referred to as used nuclear fuel, is the primary byproduct of nuclear reactors. In commercial power reactors in the U.S., fuel begins as uranium oxide clad in a thin layer of zirconium-aluminum cladding. After several years inside of the reactor, around fi ve percent of the uranium has been converted in some way, ranging from short-lived and highly radioactive fi ssion products to long-lived actinides like plutonium, americium, and neptunium.
    [Show full text]
  • NUCLEAR Unwasted NUCLEAR Unwasted NEWS
    N ational Conference of State Legislatures NUCLEAR unWASTEd NEWS A QUARTERLY S UMMARY OF GENERATION, TRANSPORTATION, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL ISSUES JANUARY - MARCH 2008 V OL. 3, NO . 1 Headline CRS Report Assesses Global Access to Nuclear Power 2/29 With the heralding of a coming nuclear renaissance in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Bush administration’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), the Congressional Research Service released a report in January titled, Managing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Policy Implications of Expanding Global Access to Nuclear Power. The 2005 Energy Policy Act outlined provisions authorizing streamlined licensing for new nuclear plants, combining construction and operating permits, and providing tax credits for nuclear power. Thirty new applications or early site permits for reactors have been filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and 150 have been planned or proposed globally. Nearly a dozen are already under construction overseas. With the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) planning to spend billions of dollars to advance nuclear technology in the U.S., other countries have similar ideas and want access to the benefits of nuclear power. Advances in nuclear technologies are attractive to those who seek to add energy options to the mostly fossil fuel genera- tion the world depends on today. Concerns about climate change, however, are complicated by fears that spreading enrichment and reprocessing technologies may lead to proliferation of weapons-grade nuclear material. Proposals of global access to nuclear power range from: offering countries access to nuclear power with a formal commit- ment to abstain from enrichment and reprocessing; to a de facto approach where a country does not operate fuel cycle facilities but makes no direct commitment to other nations; to nations having no restrictions at all.
    [Show full text]
  • Ards for the Uranium Fuel Cycle PART 191—ENVIRONMENTAL RADI
    § 190.10 40 CFR Ch. I (7–1–11 Edition) period in which he is engaged in car- ance, and the schedule for achieving rying out any operation which is part conformance with the standards. of a nuclear fuel cycle. (l) Regulatory agency means the gov- § 190.12 Effective date. ernment agency responsible for issuing (a) The standards in § 190.10(a) shall regulations governing the use of be effective December 1, 1979, except sources of radiation or radioactive ma- that for doses arising from operations terials or emissions therefrom and car- associated with the milling of uranium rying out inspection and enforcement ore the effective date shall be Decem- activities to assure compliance with ber 1, 1980. such regulations. (b) The standards in § 190.10(b) shall be effective December 1, 1979, except Subpart B—Environmental Stand- that the standards for krypton-85 and ards for the Uranium Fuel iodine-129 shall be effective January 1, Cycle 1983, for any such radioactive materials generated by the fission process after § 190.10 Standards for normal oper- these dates. ations. Operations covered by this subpart PART 191—ENVIRONMENTAL RADI- shall be conducted in such a manner as ATION PROTECTION STANDARDS to provide reasonable assurance that: FOR MANAGEMENT AND DIS- (a) The annual dose equivalent does POSAL OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL, not exceed 25 millirems to the whole body, 75 millirems to the thyroid, and HIGH-LEVEL AND TRANSURANIC 25 millirems to any other organ of any RADIOACTIVE WASTES member of the public as the result of exposures to planned discharges of ra- Subpart A—Environmental Standards for dioactive materials, radon and its Management and Storage daughters excepted, to the general en- Sec.
    [Show full text]
  • 5. Production, Import/Export, Use, and Disposal
    IODINE 227 5. PRODUCTION, IMPORT/EXPORT, USE, AND DISPOSAL 5.1 PRODUCTION Iodine, a halogen, occurs in low concentrations in nature in the form of iodides mainly in sea water, although there are a number of major sources iodine including the underground waters from certain deep- well boring and mineral springs (i.e., brines) and natural deposits of sodium nitrate ore (i.e., caliche) found in the northern part of Chile. Only a few marine organisms contain iodine in relatively large quantities including seaweeds, sponges, and corals. The different production processes for recovering iodine are based on the raw materials used. Approximately 54% of the iodine consumed in the world is obtained from Chile as a coproduct from surface mineral deposits used to produce nitrate fertilizers (USGS 2002). About 43% of the iodine consumed in the world comes from brines processed in Japan, the United States, and the former Soviet Union. The primary production process for recovery of iodine from brines is the blow-out process. The blow-out process for brines can be divided into brine clean-up, iodide oxidation followed by air blowing and recovery, and iodine finishing. In 2001, iodine was recovered from brines by the blow-out process by three companies operating in Oklahoma, which accounted for 100% of the U.S. elemental iodine production. These three companies are IOCHEM Corporation (Dewey County, Oklahoma), North American Brine Resources (Dover, Oklahoma), and Woodward Iodine Corporation (Woodward County, Oklahoma). Production of iodine in the United States has remained steady ranging from 1,270 to 1,620 metric tons between the years 1996 and 2000 (Lauterbach and Ober 1995; USGS 1998, 2002).
    [Show full text]
  • Nuclear-Spent Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Preface and Acknowledgments 5
    Nuclear-Spent Science Matters, LLC Science Matters, Bethesda, Maryland Fuel and High-Level Radioactive December 2019 Waste Disposal A Review of Options Considered in the United States An independent report Deepcommissioned Inc. Isolation, by Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D. Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgments 4 Executive Summary 8 i. Early considerations 9 ii. The 1980 Environmental Impact Statement and geologic disposal 11 iii. Retrospective on the geologic disposal decision 13 iv. The 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act 14 v. The Continued Storage Rule 15 vi. Conclusions 16 I. From the 1950s to the mid-1970s 18 i. The 1957 National Research Council Report 20 ii. Lyons, Kansas 26 II. The changing framework in the 1970s 33 i. The energy front 34 ii. A change in nuclear power prospects 35 iii. The Indian nuclear test 38 III. Options for spent-fuel and high-level waste disposal 41 i. Transmutation 45 ii. Disposal in space 48 iii. Ice-sheet disposal 54 iv. Sub-seabed disposal 58 v. Island disposal 61 vi. Well injection 61 vii. Rock melt 64 viii. Disposal in very deep holes 66 ix. Disposal in a mined geologic repository 69 IV. Retrospective on disposal options 78 i. Breeder reactors and reprocessing 80 ii. Reprocessing-dependent disposal approaches 83 iii. Non-reprocessing dependent disposal concepts 88 iv. Deep-vertical borehole disposal 93 v. Horizontal borehole disposal 95 V. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act 98 VI. The NRC’s Continued Storage Rule and geologic isolation 106 i. The Continued Storage Rule 107 ii. Comments on continued storage and geologic isolation 108 VII.
    [Show full text]
  • Externalities As the Status Quo: Federal Application of Environmental Charges in the United States
    Michigan Technological University Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports 2020 Externalities as the Status Quo: Federal Application of Environmental Charges in the United States Robert Zupko Michigan Technological University, [email protected] Copyright 2020 Robert Zupko Recommended Citation Zupko, Robert, "Externalities as the Status Quo: Federal Application of Environmental Charges in the United States", Open Access Master's Report, Michigan Technological University, 2020. https://doi.org/10.37099/mtu.dc.etdr/1052 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etdr Part of the Environmental Law Commons, and the Environmental Studies Commons EXTERNALITIES AS THE STATUS QUO: FEDERAL APPLICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHARGES IN THE UNITED STATES By Robert J. Zupko II A REPORT Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In Environmental and Energy Policy MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2020 © 2020 Robert J. Zupko II This report has been approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Environmental and Energy Policy Department of Social Sciences Report Advisor: Dr. Adam Wellstead Committee Member: Dr. Shan Zhou Committee Member: Dr. Audrey Mayer Department Chair: Dr. Hugh Gorman Contents Contents ............................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Reinterpretation of High-Level Waste Subcommittee White Paper 1 I. INTRODUCTION a Federal Register Notice Was Published by the U
    Reinterpretation of High-Level Waste Subcommittee White Paper I. INTRODUCTION A Federal Register notice was published by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requesting public comment on the DOE’s definition of the statutory term “high-level radioactive waste”(HLW).1 Current definitions of HLW are set forth in the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954 and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982. DOE is requesting stakeholders submit comments on the HLW and non-HLW interpretation to explore waste disposition decisions. There is increased interest from stakeholders at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Savannah River Site (SRS), and Hanford Site due to the large inventory of reprocessing waste managed as HLW at each site. A subcommittee was formed during the October 2018 meeting of the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) to evaluate the HLW reinterpretation issue. The subcommittee was tasked to provide an overview to the CAB members on the DOE Request for Public Comment on the U.S. DOE Interpretation of HLW and develop recommendations for the reinterpretation of HLW with respect to the waste at INL. Recommendation development included review of various pertinent documents, some of which are discussed below, and verification of some factual information through relevant DOE representatives. The documents that we reviewed are presented in chronological order below. II. BACKGROUND a. Energy Communities Alliance September 2017 Report The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) published a report titled, “Waste Disposition: A New Approach to DOE’s Waste Management Must Be Pursued”, in September 2017. The ECA report evaluates DOE’s environmental liability and risk from legacy waste cleanup efforts and waste management, specifically their management and classification of HLW throughout DOE sites.
    [Show full text]
  • RETHINKING the CHALLENGE of HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE Strategic Planning for Defense High-Level Waste and Spent Fuel Disposal
    RETHINKING THE CHALLENGE OF HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE Strategic Planning for Defense High-Level Waste and Spent Fuel Disposal Prepared by The Yakama Nation Russell Jim, Project Manager Robert Alvarez, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies Brian Barry, Environmental Scientist Sponsored by a Grant from the Citizens’ Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund RESOLVE, Inc. Grant Number: MTA-05-001 1 RETHINKING THE CHALLENGE OF HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE Strategic Planning for Defense High-Level Waste and Spent Fuel Disposal May 10, 2007 I. Nuclear Waste Disposal Challenges Recognizing that spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste is among the planet’s most dangerous material, Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) in 1982. The law required all such nuclear waste to be disposed of in a deep geologic repository so as to protect humans for at least hundreds of millennia. Under the Act, intact spent fuel rods from power reactors were to be sent directly to a repository -- a “once through” nuclear fuel cycle. High level waste from nuclear weapons production, much of which requires processing before disposal, was also designated for permanent burial deep underground. Twenty-five years after the NWPA was signed into law, the government's nuclear waste disposal program is being impacted by legal challenges, technical problems, scandal and congressional funding cuts. The Department of Energy is in the midst of yet another contentious impasse over the disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel. Legal and policy uncertainty have left the high level waste disposal program with uncertain goals and diminishing prospects for success. Delays in deciding the scientific feasibility of permanent disposal at the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada continue.
    [Show full text]
  • Shipments of Spent Nuclear Fuel in Support of Nuclear Waste Policy Act Research & Development Programs&Qu
    WM Record File WP~ Oroiect I _ /DEi D ol dNo. _ _ _ _ _ U% PnlR --" Z 4 ~lnson LPDR Distribution: Zs^Xl^XD~~~~~~~~nie1 StateDe (Return to WM, 623-SS' United State D rtment of Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management w -Ef Washington, D.C. 20585 DOE/RW-0124 Per January 1987 SHIPMENTS OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL IN SUPPORT OF NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROG RAMS The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) assigns Assembly and Disassembly (EMAD) facility at DOE's responsibility for development of a national system of Nevada Test Site. Spent fuel shipments to INEL from the K, nuclear high-level waste disposal to the U.S. Department Nuclear Fuel Services facility at West Valley, New York, of Energy (DOE). However, until the disposal system are also planned, pending cask certification. Shipments begins to operate (expected in 1998), the utilities are of spent fuel were made to the Hanford facility in responsible for spent fuel storage. To accommodate the Richland, Washington: in September 1985 from the growing inventory of spent fuel prior to system operation, Calvert Cliffs Power Station in Maryland (two many utilities must increase their storage capacity or face shipments), and in February 1986 from General Electric's the possibility of shutting down their nuclear electric facility in Morris, Illinois (one shipment). Finally, plants. tentative plans are being made for shipments in the next several years from yet-to-be-determined power stations To alleviate this problem, the NWPA directs DOE to to Richland, Washington, in order to conduct laboratory establish a demonstration program, in cooperation with tests of fuel and waste-package interactions, and to INEL the private sector, for the dry storage of spent fuel at to test prototype fuel-rod consolidation equipment.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Defense Institute Box 220 Troy, ID 83871-0220 208-835-5407
    Environmental Defense Institute Box 220 Troy, ID 83871-0220 208-835-5407 www.environmental-defense-institute.org September 26, 2018 Daina McFadden 3100 Port of Benton Blvd Richland, WA 99354 Sent By Email: [email protected] Posted By Web Form: http://wt.ecology.commentinput.com/?id=7mped RE: Proposed Class 3 Permit Modification 8C.2018.4D to the Hanford Facility Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permit, Dangerous Waste Portion, Revision 8C, for the Treatment, Storage, and Disposal of Dangerous Waste, Part V, Closure Unit Group 25, Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) Plant Storage Tunnels, WA 7890008967 Dear Ms. McFadden, The Environmental Defense Institute (EDI) appreciates this opportunity to comment on Proposed Class 3 Permit Modification 8C.2018.4D. The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) is proposing a change to the Hanford Facility Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit, Revision 8c. This change affects the Dangerous Waste Portion for the Treatment, Storage, and Disposal of Dangerous Waste for the Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) Plant Storage Tunnels. The proposed changes are located in Part III, Operating Unit 2. In EDI’s view, Ecology has inadequately reviewed Hanford’s RCRA permit application and yet has determined that these changes satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for the proposed changes are located in Part III, Operating Unit 2 that resulted in filling PUREX Tunnel One with grout to stabilize it, and a plan that is already in action to fill PUREX Tunnel Number Two with grout. Following the collapse of PUREX Tunnel 1 the Department of Energy and Ecology inappropriately agreed to a response action to stabilize Tunnel 1 by filling the void space in the tunnel with grout.
    [Show full text]
  • Public Law 99-240 99Th Congress An
    99 STAT. 1842 PUBLIC LAW 99-240—JAN. 15, 1986 Public Law 99-240 99th Congress An Act To amend the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act to improve procedures for the implementation of compacts providing for the establishment and operation of Jan.15, 1986 regional disposal facilities for low-level radioactive waste; to grant the consent of [H.R. 1083] the eongress Ur certain interstate compacts on low-level radioactive waste; and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State and local United States of America in Congress assembled, governments. Low-Level TITLE I—LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE POLICY Radioactive AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1985 Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985. SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 42 use 2021b note. This Title may be cited as the "Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985". SEC. 102. AMENDMENT TO THE LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE POLICY ACT. 42 use The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 2021b et 2021b-2021d, seq.) is amended by striking out sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 and inserting 2021b note. in lieu thereof the following: 42 use 2021b "SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. note. "This Act may be cited as the 'Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act'. 42 use 2021b. "SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. "For purposes of this Act: "(1) AGREEMENT STATE.—The term 'agreement State' means a State that— "(A) has entered into an agreement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Nuclear Waste Policy Act: Where We've Been and Where We're Headed
    Nuclear Waste Policy Act: Where We've Been and Where We're Headed Kevin Flournoy July 2012 Agenda Setting: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again?) of the Nuclear Dream The United States’ foray into peaceful atomic power began under the Eisenhower administration. Eisenhower sought to show the global community that the United States’ use of nuclear power was not solely relegated to the military sphere (Rosenbaum 2008). Coupled with this concern of global reputation was the real threat of global nuclear proliferation. Nuclear waste was first created in the effort to create and stockpile nuclear weapons during World War II and the Cold War (Macfarlane 2003). This waste was produced as a by-product of reprocessing. Reprocessing is the process of separating plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. This radioactive waste was placed in large tanks filled with water and its presence serves as a reminder of the problems facing the United States in its quest for nuclear waste solutions. In 1954, the federal government passed the Atomic Energy Act. This piece of legislation facilitated the commercial development of nuclear power. It became easier for private energy companies to build and operate nuclear facilities while giving little thought to the back end (i.e., waste producing) of the fuel cycle. In 1957, the government further subsidized the budding nuclear energy program by passing the Price-Anderson Act. This act limited a nuclear utility’s insurance liability to $540 million for any single reactor accident (Rosenbaum 2008). This cap on liability ensured that the industry would be able to obtain necessary insurance coverage.
    [Show full text]