NWTRB special report to congress and the Secretary of Energy

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (the Board) was created by Congress in 1987 to review the scientific and technical validity of the Department of Energy's (DOE) civilian radioactive waste management program. The goal of the DOE's program is to design and develop a system to manage and safely dispose of the spent nuclear fuel being produced at the nation's 108 commercial nuclear power plants along with some high-level reprocessing wastes from defense-related activities. During its review of the program, the Board has witnessed considerable progress, especially in site characterization and data collection at Yucca Mountain, and, given existing data, this NWTRB Special Report to Congress and the Secretary of Energy briefly outlines three of the Board's major concerns: (1) the program's unrealistic deadlines, (2) the need for an integrated overall waste management plan, and (3) the effectiveness of program management. The Board believes that these concerns should be addressed immediately, concurrent with ongoing site-characterization work, to ensure that the program has a strong technical and scientific base and to facilitate program progress