United States high-level radioactive waste repository program

Ten years have now passed since the United States established a national policy and process for developing a waste management system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Of those ten years, the last two years have marked the greatest progress in studying a site for development of a geologic repository. This paper will discuss the United States program underway for developing the waste management system, with particular emphasis on our recent progress at Yucca Mountain, Nevada -- the site designated by the United States Congress for detailed site characterization to determine whether or not it is suitable for development of a repository