In this Book

summary
For twenty-five years, the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada was designated as the sole destination for disposal of the nation's accumulated stockpiles of highly radioactive nuclear power and weapons wastes. Now the Obama administration has abandoned Yucca, and Congress must pass new laws to solve the resulting disposal crisis. Even as the federal government seeks to expand nuclear power, local communities and states are demanding a credible program for disposal of the wastes that we already have. The Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, appointed by the Obama administration to develop a plan, is currently conducting hearings.

The first comprehensive history and overview of U.S. nuclear waste law and regulation, Fuel Cycle to Nowhere traces sixty years of nuclear weapons programs, the growth of nuclear power, and their waste legacies, the rise of environmentalism, and the responses of federal agencies. Richard and Jane Stewart expertly analyze the changing policies for storing low-level waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel, and high-level waste and for regulating their transport by rail and by truck. They also chronicle "a tale of two repositories"--one, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, known as WIPP, the world's only operating deep geologic nuclear waste disposal facility, which emerged from a contentious but ultimately successful struggle between federal and state interests; the other, Yucca Mountain, mandated top down by Congress and a failure.

Fuel Cycle to Nowhere provides the critical information and analysis on the waste disposal issues and solutions that the commission, Congress, the administration, journalists, policymakers, and the public so urgently need.

This book is a project of the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP), a Vanderbilt University-led, multi-university consortium supported as a cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental This book is a project of the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP), a Vanderbilt University-led, multi-university consortium supported as a cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management to support safe, effective, publicly credible, risk informed management of existing and future nuclear waste from government and civilian sources through independent strategic analysis, review, applied research and education.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
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  1. Title Page
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  1. Table of Contents
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  1. Acronyms and Abbreviations
  2. pp. xi-xiv
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  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. xv-xviii
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  1. Introduction
  1. The Current Nuclear Waste Policy Dilemma
  2. pp. 2-3
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  1. Lessons from Prior Government Programs for Nuclear Waste Disposal
  2. pp. 3-4
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  1. Nuclear Waste Disposal: Meeting the Political and Institutional Challenge
  2. pp. 4-6
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  1. Nuclear Waste Policy Options and Choices
  2. pp. 6-8
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  1. Evolutionary Dynamics in U.S. Nuclear Waste Law and Policy
  2. pp. 8-9
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  1. Federalism and the Federal Courts
  2. pp. 9-11
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  1. The Coming Third Era
  2. pp. 11-13
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  1. 1. The Evolution of U.S. Nuclear Waste Law and Policy
  1. Nuclear Weapons Buildup and the Rise of Nuclear Power, 1946–1970
  2. pp. 17-29
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  1. The Rise of the Environmental Movement and the End of Reprocessing
  2. pp. 30-55
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  1. Federal Nuclear Waste Disposal Initiatives and Legislation
  2. pp. 56-72
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  1. Yucca Abandoned: Repository Limbo, Orphan Waste Challenges
  2. pp. 73-83
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  1. 2. Radioactive Waste Classification and Regulation
  1. Nuclear Wastes and Their Regulatory Classification
  2. pp. 85-94
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  1. Nuclear Waste Regulatory Classification and Requirements
  2. pp. 95-101
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  1. HLW Reclassification Initiatives
  2. pp. 102-110
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  1. Mixed Waste
  2. pp. 111-112
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  1. Toward a More Risk-Based System of Radioactive Waste Classification and Regulation
  2. pp. 113-121
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  1. Conclusion
  2. p. 122
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  1. 3. Nuclear Waste Transport
  1. The Evolution of Nuclear Waste Transport Regulation
  2. pp. 124-128
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  1. The Current Nuclear Waste Transport Regulatory Structure
  2. pp. 129-132
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  1. Experience with Nuclear Waste Transport
  2. pp. 133-134
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  1. Transportation of TRU for Disposal at WIPP
  2. pp. 135-139
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  1. Transportation of SNF and HLW to Yucca Mountain
  2. pp. 140-141
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  1. Assessing the Nuclear Waste Transportation Regime
  2. p. 142
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  1. Conclusion
  2. pp. 143-144
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  1. 4. Low-Level Waste Disposal
  1. Early Developments
  2. p. 146
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  1. The 1980 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act
  2. pp. 147-148
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  1. The 1985 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act Amendments
  2. pp. 149-153
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  1. The Current LLW Disposal Situation
  2. pp. 154-156
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  1. Options for Addressing LLW Disposal Problems
  2. pp. 157-160
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  1. Conclusion
  2. pp. 160-161
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  1. 5. WIPP: The Rocky Road to Success
  1. The Origins of WIPP
  2. p. 162
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  1. Restriction of WIPP to Defense TRU
  2. pp. 163-167
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  1. New Mexico's Successful Efforts to Gain a Role in Decision Making Regarding WIPP
  2. pp. 168-171
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  1. New Mexico: Federal Interactions and Resolution of Conflicts, 1980–1992
  2. pp. 171-175
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  1. Controversy over Land Withdrawal for WIPP, 1989–1992
  2. pp. 175-178
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  1. Restoring WIPP's Credibility, 1992–1996
  2. p. 179
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  1. WIPP Moves into Full-Scale Operation as a TRU Repository
  2. pp. 180-184
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  1. Conclusion
  2. pp. 184-185
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  1. 6. Yucca Mountain: Blueprint for Failure
  1. The 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act and Its Implementation by DOE
  2. pp. 187-194
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  1. DOE's Implementation of the NWPA Siting Process
  2. pp. 195-200
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  1. Crisis in the NWPA Siting Scheme
  2. pp. 201-206
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  1. The 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act and Resistance to a Yucca Repository
  2. pp. 207-209
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  1. Nevada's Legal Actions to Thwart a Repository at Yucca Mountain
  2. pp. 210-213
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  1. The Battle for Public Opinion
  2. pp. 214-215
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  1. Responses to Repository Delay
  2. p. 216
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  1. Twists and Turns in the Technical Debate over Yucca
  2. pp. 217-221
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  1. Federal Designation of Yucca for a Repository, and Nevada's Continuing Resistance
  2. pp. 222-224
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  1. DOE's Yucca License Application to NRC
  2. p. 225
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  1. Obama's Election as President: Political Victory for Nevada
  2. pp. 226-229
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  1. Conclusion
  2. p. 230
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  1. 7. Options for Orphan Wastes
  1. Continued SNF Storage at Reactors
  2. pp. 232-234
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  1. Consolidated SNF Storage
  2. pp. 235-238
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  1. Evaluating Interim Storage Options
  2. pp. 239-241
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  1. SNF Reprocessing
  2. pp. 242-252
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  1. Conclusion
  2. p. 253
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  1. 8. Nuclear Waste in the United States: Lessons Learned and Future Choices
  1. Evolution of U.S. Nuclear Waste Policy: Recapitulation
  2. pp. 254-257
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  1. Current Nuclear Waste Dilemmas and Options
  2. pp. 258-271
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  1. Lessons Learned and Future Strategies for U.S. Nuclear Waste Policy
  2. pp. 272-306
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  1. Appendix A: Operating U.S. Nuclear Power Units by Year
  2. pp. 307-308
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  1. Appendix B: Uranium Oxide Spot Prices (per pound)
  2. pp. 309-310
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  1. Appendix C: The Hanford Waste Cleanup Agreement and Program
  2. pp. 311-314
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  1. Notes
  2. pp. 315-396
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  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 397-412
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  1. Index
  2. pp. 413-427
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