Back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. National programme of the United States of America

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (the Act) of 1982 provided the United States policy for the safe storage and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste. The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) was established within the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to carry out the mandates of the Act. The culmination of activities leading to the first deep, geological repository and the monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facility will prepare the DOE to accept spent fuel for storage and disposal by 1998. The following major goals are expected to be completed during the 1990s for the waste management system: (1) site characterization and selection of a first repository site from three candidates; (2) waste package design and testing; (3) repository design, regulatory authorization and construction; (4) siting, design and construction of an MRS facility if approved by Congress; (5) preparation of transport casks and a transportation fleet; and (6) industry use of interim dry surface storage or at-reactor rod consolidation to alleviate special storage needs for spent fuel. The Act also authorized siting, but not construction, of a second repository. On 28 May 1986, the Secretary of Energy announced that site specific activities for a second repository would be postponed indefinitely on the basis of new projections reflecting reduced amounts of spent fuel and other factors; however, development of generic technology will be continuing in the 1990s to support both the first and second repositories. An overview of the strategy, goals, objectives and achievements to be anticipated in the 1990s for the DOE's Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program are provided. The issues and policies to be considered in the 1990s are described