Managing Used Fuel from Nuclear Power Plants and Defense-Related Activities January 2000 Key Facts In 1982, Congress charged the Energy Department with building a disposal facility for used fuel from the nation’s nuclear power plants and high-level waste from U.S. defense programs. The law set a deadline for the federal government to begin accepting used fuel. That deadline expired on Jan. 31, 1998. Despite its legal obligation to start taking used nuclear fuel in January 1998 and three federal court rulings reaffirming this duty, the Energy Department says it cannot fulfill its responsibility. In December 1998, DOE published a preliminary assessment of the proposed repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nev. The agency concluded, "public health and the environment can be protected," and announced that it expects to make a final decision on the suitability of the site for an underground disposal facility in 2001. Congress is expected to consider legislation this year that would reform the Energy Department’s nuclear waste program, providing early acceptance of used nuclear fuel at a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain in 2007, contingent upon Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval of its license application. The bill also includes provisions for a science-based radiation protection standard for Yucca Mountain and a safe transportation network to move fuel to the repository. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 committed the Energy Department to finding a deep geologic disposal site to isolate fuel. But the law did not provide precise direction about how to execute that plan. Without clear guidance from Congress, the federal government will continue to delay temporary storage and disposal of used nuclear fuel scattered in 41 states at nuclear power plants, research reactors and defense-related facilities. Used fuel from commercial nuclear power plants consists of solid ceramic-coated uranium pellets protected in zirconium alloy tubes called fuel rods. A typical nuclear power plant produces about 20 metric tons of used fuel each year. All the used fuel produced by the nuclear energy industry during more than 45 years of operation (40,000 metric tons), if stacked end to end, would cover a football field four yards deep. America’s electricity consumers already have committed $16 billion to pay for a federal used fuel storage and disposal program. Now, delays in taking used fuel are forcing consumers to pay millions more to keep used fuel stored at reactor sites owned by their local utilities. The Energy Department’s failure to start taking used nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants has created a potential $56 billion liability. The federal government’s potential liability is based on unforeseen expenses at short-term storage sites and damages for failing to honor used fuel acceptance contracts. As the length of time increases on the default, so do costs to consumers and the potential liability to taxpayers. Background and History The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982 and its 1987 amendments assigned the Energy Department the task of developing and managing a program to begin accepting the nation’s used nuclear fuel by January 1998. The Energy Department has experience considerable difficulty in implementing the 1982 law, and is years behind schedule in developing a repository. The Energy Department’s failure to honor this unconditional commitment could jeopardize the future of America's 103 nuclear power plants, our largest source of emission-free electricity. By the end of this year, at least 27 nuclear units will exhaust on-site pool storage capacity for used nuclear fuel and must consider other storage measures that may prove costly to consumers. Yucca Mountain has the best attributes for a repository, based on preliminary screening of sites in Texas, Washington and Nevada. So, in response to federal government delays and escalating costs, Congress amended the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in 1987 and selected Yucca Mountain as the only site for scientific study. The 1987 law also authorized, but did not require, DOE to develop an aboveground monitored retrievable storage facility that would temporarily house used nuclear fuel. DOE insists that it cannot take fuel because no facility exists. The 1997 court decision is one of several rulings that place added pressure on DOE to begin fulfilling its used fuel disposal commitment. Four years ago, a coalition of state utility regulators, attorneys general and nuclear industry executives from more than 20 states filed suit to force DOE to take fuel. The U.S. Court of Appeals in 1996 reaffirmed DOE’s statutory obligation to begin accepting used fuel in 1998. Following that ruling, federal courts have continued to hold DOE accountable to its fuel acceptance deadline based on various legal principles. Since Oct. 30, 1998, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled in three separate cases that DOE breached its contract to begin used fuel acceptance, creating a potential taxpayer liability of up to $56 billion. On Nov. 30, 1998, the Supreme Court effectively left in place DOE’s clear obligation to move used nuclear fuel beginning in 1998. But the nation’s highest court also refused to hear two appeals, one from public utility commissioners seeking to force DOE to take waste and store it. The second appeal sought to overturn a Federal Court of Claims ruling allowing utilities to seek damages for DOE’s breach of contract. In addition to pursuing legal remedies, the industry has sought to change the federal government’s policy of continued delays by supporting reform legislation. The Senate adopted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997 by a 65-34 vote, and the House of Representatives passed similar legislation by a 307-120 vote. But legislation abruptly stalled in June of that year as election campaigns gained momentum. Legislation Needed To Speed Federal Movement of Used Fuel Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski said in January that the U.S. Senate is expected to consider the Nuclear Waste Policy Act early this year. The legislation (S. 1287) is a streamlined version of a comprehensive bill considered in previous years, yet provides clear direction for the Department of Energy to begin managing used nuclear fuel and continue work at a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain. S. 1287 includes five principles supported by sponsors of the bill and the nuclear energy industry: Accepting used nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain as soon as DOE receives a construction authorization for a repository from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, expected in 2007; Establishing a radiation protection standard for the public near the repository that protects public health and safety; Authorizing DOE to settle lawsuits filed by utilities and take title for fuel at reactor sites where additional on-site storage cannot be built, and giving priority to the transportation of this fuel for early acceptance at Yucca Mountain. In these settlements, use of the Nuclear Waste Fund to pay damages to utilities would be prohibited. Requiring approval by a joint resolution of Congress for proposed adjustments by DOE of the Nuclear Waste Fund fee; and Providing special considerations for state and local government for routing of used nuclear fuel shipments. State and local governments also would receive funding for training transportation personnel and emergency responders. Passage of S. 1287 is an essential step forward for the nation’s program to safely manage used nuclear fuel. Today, used fuel is stored at nuclear power plant sites in 34 states, either in steel-lined, water-filled concrete vaults or in above-ground steel or steel-reinforced concrete storage containers. However, these interim measures were never intended to serve long-term storage needs. Similarly, high-level radioactive waste from research reactors and defense-related activities being stored across the country must be disposed of at a federal repository. Scientific organizations worldwide have examined the issue of used nuclear fuel disposal, and virtually all support the same conclusion: management of fuel is safest when disposed of at an underground repository. S. 1287 provides a clear path toward this goal, while meeting the federal government’s responsibility to begin managing used fuel, which was to begin in 1998. Used Nuclear Fuel: Small Volume, Safe Storage The proposed repository at Yucca Mountain today is like a large laboratory complex, where world-class scientists conduct scores of experiments to determine the site’s suitability for long-term disposal of used nuclear fuel. If a repository is built in the Nevada desert, fuel would be handled and packaged at a surface facility and delivered through ramps to a mine 1,000 feet underground—and 1,000 feet above the water table—where it would be preserved in sealed containers. A series of man-made and natural barriers would further protect the environment. The used fuel to be stored there would come from nuclear plants powered by uranium oxide fuel, research reactors and defense-related activities. More than 100 nuclear reactors produce about 2,000 metric tons of used fuel annually. This fuel, in the form of thimble-sized ceramic pellets, is placed inside metal fuel rods, which are grouped into bundles, called fuel assemblies About every 18 to 24 months, a reactor is shut down and the oldest fuel assemblies—which have released most of their energy but have become radioactive as a result of fission—are removed and replaced. Fission—the splitting of uranium atoms in a chain reaction—produces heat energy that boils water into steam and drives a turbine-generator to produce electricity. Ultimately, this used fuel must be responsibly stored for the long term in an underground repository. The Energy Department also must store more than 22,000 high-level radioactive waste containers and 2,750 metric tons of spent fuel produced for national security activities.   Nuclear Waste Fund Commitments Through September 1999 State Total State Total (in millions) (in millions) Alabama $663.2. Mississippi $160 Arizona 403.5 Missouri 165.5 Arkansas 380.9 Nebraska 255 California 747.6 N. Hampshire 98.7 Colorado 0.3 N. Jersey 598 Connecticut 674.5 New York 996.9 Florida 710 N. Carolina 689.9 Georgia 558.6 Ohio 266.2 Illinois 2,102.8 Oregon 109.7 Iowa 104.8 Pennsylvania 1,338 Kansas 152 S. Carolina 1,120.9 Louisiana 250.7 Tennessee 315.6 Maine 233.1 Texas 382.3 Maryland 331.3 Vermont 185.5 Mass. 161.6 Virginia 654.5 Michigan 720.4 Washington 119.4 Minnesota 388.3 Wisconsin 357.3 Total 16.397 Source: Energy Resources International   Scientific Studies Will Determine Yucca Mountain Suitability Site characterization at Yucca Mountain is one of the most thorough and comprehensive scientific investigations ever conducted. When completed next year, site characterization will have lasted 15 years, cost more than $6 billion and involved more than 2,000 scientists, engineers and technicians. The studies focus on all aspects of the Yucca Mountain site that will play a role in isolating used nuclear fuel. In particular, the research examines three key subjects: earthquakes, volcanoes and the movement of water through layers of rock at the site. Much of that study centers on better understanding the natural barriers that will work with engineered systems to provide long-term isolation of nuclear fuel. Engineers also are researching what container materials are most compatible with the geochemical properties of Yucca Mountain and how to prolong the container life if it should come in contact with water and be exposed to changing thermal conditions. Safely Transporting Used Nuclear Fuel In addition to the storage and permanent repository components of an integrated used fuel management program, the federal government must develop a system for the safe transportation of used nuclear fuel. Used fuel will be delivered to storage and disposal facilities by rail or truck. Containers used for shipping reactor fuel typically have stainless steel walls several inches thick, with radiation shielding materials sandwiched between outer and inner metal shells. Those designed for truck transportation weigh 25 tons and carry one to seven used fuel assemblies. Railroad containers weigh 75 tons to 125 tons, and carry 36 or more assemblies. To ensure that transportation containers retain their integrity in the event of an accident, each container must meet rigorous design requirements. The container designs must be able to withstand the following tests in sequence: a 30-foot fall onto a flat, unyielding surface; a puncture test allowing the container to fall 40-inches onto a steel rod six-inches wide; exposure to a fire of 1,475-degree Fahrenheit that engulfs the whole container for 30 minutes; and a separate test requires containers to be submerged in 50 feet of water for eight hours. Since 1964, the Transportation Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have ensured the safe transportation of nearly 3,000 shipments of commercial used fuel. During that time, more than 10,000 used fuel assemblies have traveled more than 1.6 million miles in the United States. Although there have been eight accidents involving commercial used fuel since 1964, no harmful levels of radioactivity have been released. Used nuclear fuel can be shipped only along specific highway routes. The small, select corps of shippers must comply with specific DOT and NRC regulations regarding the transfer of used nuclear fuel. Shippers must file a written route plan with the NRC, which includes the origin and destination of the shipment, the route, planned stops, estimated arrival times at each stop and emergency telephone numbers in each state the shipment will cross. DOT also requires the shipper to notify the governor of any state through which the material travels. States may participate in the routing selection process and designate alternate routes. In either case, routes that avoid highly populated areas are preferred.