Radioactive Waste

The biggest technological challenge presently facing the nuclear industry is the long-term, safe disposal of high-level waste. The current preferred disposal option is to bury it deep underground. The Department of Energy proposed in 1983 that nine sites in geologically diverse locations be studied for suitability as one of two potential waste repositories. In 1987, Congress amended the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to redirect the Department of Energy to focus site characterization activities only at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Huge sums of money have been spent in planning for this disposal option, but it remains controversial and is not yet built. The Department of Energy does predict, however, that the site will be available for disposal activities in the year 2010.

Political and scientific disagreements between the State of Nevada and the federal government have delayed the process, as have arguments presented by environmental groups. Opponents have complained that the site selection process has been dominated by political decision making rather than scientific reason. Technical concerns largely center on the geological stability of the area and the potential for water infiltration into the repository causing the release of radioactive material into the environment. Moreover, there are relatively young volcanoes nearby, several faults near the site, and the potential for climate change to cause ground-water levels to rise and inundate the repository horizon. Further complicating the issue is the fact that the proposed site lies adjacent to the Nevada Test Site (NTS), the location at which approximately one thousand nuclear weapons tests have been conducted. Some have argued that the extensive radioactive contamination associated with testing at the NTS makes the Yucca Mountain site more favorable for waste disposal. They suggest that the existing, uncontrolled contamination is unlikely to be significantly worsened by the proposed disposal of nuclear wastes in a controlled, engineered system and that localization of the wastes in a previously contaminated area is preferable to the contamination of a new site.

Despite the controversy, in February 2002, the Secretary of Energy recommended to the President that the Yucca Mountain site be selected as the nation's high-level nuclear waste repository. The President followed the Secretary's recommendation and approved the site, only to be vetoed by the Governor of the State of Nevada. However, the U.S. Congress voted to override the veto in July 2002. The State of Nevada has since filed lawsuits to stop the project and will very likely fight the licensing application with the NRC prior to the receipt of waste and operation of the repository. It seems that the only certainty is that the safe, long-term disposal of high-level radioactive wastes will continue to be an extreme challenge for technologists, and for society.