THE GORDIAN KNOT OF U.S. NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL - POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A WAY FORWARD

The U.S. nuclear waste management and disposal program has been stymied on multiple fronts: from the disposal of high-level and transuranic wastes from defense programs to the spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants, as well as the disposition of plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons. In 2002, Congress approved President George W. Bush’s decision that Yucca Mountain in Nevada be selected as the nation’s geologic repository for high-activity radioactive wastes. In 2008, the Department of Energy submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct that facility. Two years later, the administration concluded that developing a repository at Yucca Mountain was “unworkable.” A stalemate has prevailed between those who continue to maintain that the Yucca Mountain project was “unworkable“ and those who believe that the choice of the site is the “law.“ During the most recent presidential election, Democratic and Republican presidentical candidates did not support the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. The Biden administration is now moving forward to identify a consolidated interim storage site for commercially generated spent fuel using a consent-based process. The prospects for a geological repository remain dim.

Over a several years, Stanford University and George Washington University sponsored a series of five meetings to identify the critical issues that must be addressed in order to move the U.S. program forward. A final report, Reset of America’s Nuclear Waste Management Strategy and Policy, identifies systemic issues that have challenged the U.S. program. Recommendations include:

• New nuclear waste management organization and new funding process
• A consent-based sitting process
• Integration of the backend of the nuclear fuel cycle
• Revision of regulations and a new approach to the assessment of safety