Nuclear Waste: Disposal Challenges and Lessons Learned from Yucca Mountain -- GAO

Nuclear Waste: Disposal Challenges and Lessons Learned from Yucca Mountain -- GAO

from PEN by Pace Law School Library

This Government Accountability Office report (GAO-11-731T), dated June 1, 2011, finds that uncertainties exist about the direction of the nation’s policy for nuclear waste disposal. Under NWPA, DOE investigated Yucca Mountain as a site for a repository. In 2002, DOE recommended the site to the President and in 2008 submitted a license application to NRC.

DOE is now seeking to withdraw the application from NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. DOE did not cite technical or safety issues but stated that Yucca Mountain is not a workable option because of a lack of public acceptance by the people of Nevada. On June 29, 2010, the board denied DOE’s motion, ruling that NWPA requires DOE to continue the licensing effort.

The NRC commissioners announced they might consider reviewing the board’s decision, but as of May 26, 2011, no review had been announced. Separately, state and local governments and a private party filed suit in federal court against DOE and NRC in an effort to stop the repository termination. The court has not yet ruled. Amid this uncertainty, DOE took steps to shut down Yucca Mountain by September 30, 2010. DOE also established a Blue Ribbon Commission to evaluate alternatives for nuclear waste disposal, which plans to report by January 2012.

Three primary waste storage options offer benefits but also face challenges, including high costs. Two options are for interim storage—continued on-site or centralized storage—which could allow time for research into new approaches that might have wider public acceptance than the Yucca Mountain permanent repository. Continued on-site storage would require less effort to implement since it is the current method of waste storage.