ONE STEP AT A TIME
The Staged Development of Geologic Repositories for High-Level Radioactive Waste
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competence and with regard for appropriate balance.
Support for this study was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy under cooperative agreement number DE-FG08-97NV12056. All opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Energy.
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Cover: The development of geologic repositories for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste presents technical and societal challenges. As is the case for other first-of-a-kind and complex projects, repository programs should proceed in stages, or steps, as recognized in waste disposal programs worldwide.
Copyright 2003 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm.A.Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V.Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Wm.A.Wulf are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
COMMITTEE ON PRINCIPLES AND OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR STAGED REPOSITORY SYSTEMS
CHARLES MCCOMBIE, Chair, Independent consultant,
Switzerland
DAVID E. DANIEL, Vice-Chair,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
ROBERT M. BERNERO,
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (retired), Gaithersburg, Maryland
RADFORD BYERLY, Jr.,
University of Colorado
BARBARA L. DUTROW,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
JERRY M. HARRIS,
Stanford University, California
THOMAS ISAACS,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California
LEONARD F. KONIKOW,
United States Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia
TODD R. LAPORTE,
University of California-Berkeley
JANE C. S. LONG,
Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno
WERNER LUTZE,
Catholic University of America, Washington, District of Columbia
EUGENE A. ROSA,
Washington State University, Pullman
ATSUYUKI SUZUKI,
University of Tokyo, Japan
WENDELL WEART,
Sandia National Laboratories (retired), Albuquerque, New Mexico (resigned from the committee on December 31, 2002)
Staff
BARBARA PASTINA, Study Director
LATRICIA C. BAILEY, Senior Project Assistant
DARLA J. THOMPSON, Research Assistant
BOARD ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
JOHN F. AHEARNE, Chair,
Sigma Xi and Duke University, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
CHARLES MCCOMBIE, Vice Chair, Consultant,
Gipf-Oberfrick, Switzerland
ROBERT M. BERNERO,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (retired), Gaithersburg, Maryland
GREGORY R. CHOPPIN,
Florida State University, Tallahassee
RODNEY C. EWING,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
JAMES H. JOHNSON, JR.,
Howard University, Washington, D.C.
HOWARD C. KUNREUTHER,
University of Pennsylvania
NIKOLAY LAVEROV,
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
MILTON LEVENSON,
Bechtel International (retired), Menlo Park, California
JANE C. S. LONG,
Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno
ALEXANDER MACLACHLAN,
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (retired), Wilmington, Delaware
NORINE E. NOONAN,
College of Charleston, South Carolina
EUGENE A. ROSA,
Washington State University, Pullman
ATSUYUKI SUZUKI,
University of Tokyo, Japan
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
The Nature Conservancy, Altamonte Springs, Florida
Staff
KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Director
MICAH D. LOWENTHAL, Staff Officer
BARBARA PASTINA, Senior Staff Officer
JOHN R. WILEY, Senior Staff Officer
TONI GREENLEAF, Administrative Associate
DARLA J. THOMPSON, Research Assistant
LATRICIA C. BAILEY, Senior Project Assistant
LAURA D. LLANOS, Senior Project Assistant
ANGELA R. TAYLOR, Senior Project Assistant
JAMES YATES, JR., Office Assistant
Preface
Recent decades have witnessed a continuing worldwide debate on the management of radioactive high-level waste,1 and recent developments, including both major advances and setbacks, in various countries have led to an intensification of this debate. Geologic disposal involves placing high-level waste in a carefully selected, deep underground repository, where it remains isolated from the accessible environment for very long time periods until the waste no longer represents a hazard to humans or to the accessible environment. Disposal in a carefully sited and designed geologic repository is recognized by most of the international technical community, including the National Research Council, as a long-term management option for high-level waste that provides a high degree of safety and security (NEA, 1991, 1999a,b; NRC, 1957, 2001). However, geologic disposal of high-level waste has proven to be a major challenge for many nations. Delays and setbacks have been common, often attributable to the difficulties of simultaneously addressing technical and societal challenges (NRC, 2001).
Previous National Research Council committees have recommended a staged, or stepwise, approach for geologic disposal programs to address these technical and societal challenges (NRC, 1990, 2001). The 2001 National Research Council report Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel concluded:
“For both scientific and societal reasons, national programs should proceed in a phased or stepwise manner, supported by dialogue and analysis” (NRC, 2001; p. 5).
Other international organizations, such as the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), and the International Association for the Environmentally Safe Disposal of Radioactive Materials (EDRAM),2 also observed:
“There is a general common trend towards advocacy of prudent, stepwise approaches at the implementational and regulatory level to allow smaller incremental steps in the societal decision making process” (NEA, 1999a; p. 11).
and suggested:
“The stepwise approach could be a way to solve the problems involved in the implementation of radwaste [radioactive waste] management. It consists of a process where discrete and explicit steps are taken in repository planning and where the possibility of public input to the process is clearly stated. By increasing the transparency of the decision-making process, any counter-productive effects of public participation programmes may be avoided” (EDRAM, 2002; pp. 13–14).
Other review groups set up independently of implementers and regulators have also recommended a staged approach to repository development (EKRA, 2000; AkEnd, 2002).
As the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approaches a license application for Yucca Mountain, it faces some significant choices with respect to the design and operation of a repository. Because the Yucca Mountain repository would be a first-of-a-kind engineering project, DOE is considering a staged approach for its design, construction, operation, and closure. That is, DOE would make decisions about the repository in a stepwise fashion, commensurate with the available level of technical and policy understanding, and in a manner that allows for subsequent reversal, if warranted.
Although the concept of repository staging is receiving increased attention in many national waste disposal programs, including the Yucca Mountain Project, it is not well understood in an operational sense, nor has its implementation been considered in much detail.
Therefore, the DOE’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management asked the National Research Council for advice on operational strategies for the development of a geologic repository for high-level waste. In the letter requesting this study, DOE wrote:
“I believe that it would be very helpful to have advice from the National Research Council on strategies the Department [of Energy] could pursue for staging the design, construction, operation, and closure of a repository in a safe, secure, cost effective, and societally acceptable fashion.… Although the concept of repository staging is receiving increased attention by repository programs in the United States and many other countries, it is not well understood in an operational sense.…
The potential benefits of staging, however, are very clear. From a technical perspective, staging provides opportunities for continuous learning and improvement over the life of a repository program. From a societal perspective, staging can provide for safe and secure waste disposal while also providing assurance to society that a system of checks and balances is in place to detect problems so that timely corrective actions can be taken if needed” (Itkin, 2000).
This report provides a systematic framework for a particular stepwise approach for repository development, termed “Adaptive Staging” (see Chapter 2), together with operational suggestions on how this approach can be applied in practice.
Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed in accordance with the procedures of the National Research Council and reflects the consensus of the committee.3 The report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. This independent review provides candid and critical comments that assist the National Research Council both in making the published report technically sound and in ensuring that the report meets National Research Council institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
3 |
The National Research Council’s Committee on Principles and Operational Strategies for Staged Repository Systems (see Appendix A). |
John F. Ahearne, Sigma Xi, and Duke University
Roger E. Kasperson, Stockholm Environment Institute
Yves Le Bars, French National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management
Kai N. Lee, Williams College
Arjun Makhijani, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
Sören Norrby, Swedish National Council for Nuclear Waste
Frank L. Parker, Vanderbilt University
Mary Lou Zoback, U.S. Geological Survey
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Paul B.Barton, Jr., U.S. Geological Survey, Geologist Emeritus, and John Applegate, Indiana University School of Law. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with National Research Council procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Research Council.
This study could not have been completed without the assistance of many individuals and organizations. The committee thanks DOE staff members from the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, the Yucca Mountain Project, national laboratories, and contractors, as well as staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, State of Nevada, Nuclear Energy Institute, and numerous international and national experts for contributing to lively discussions and providing insights into the committee’s task. In particular, the committee thanks all speakers at the information-gathering meetings (see Appendix B). The committee is especially grateful to the following staff members of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management: Jeffrey Williams, the committee’s liaison, for his help and support in the committee’s activities; Ivan Itkin and Lake Barrett, former director and acting director, respectively, and Margaret Chu, present director, for their interest in, and commitment to, this study.
The committee also thanks the National Research Council staff who helped initiate and steered this project. Barbara Pastina directed the study in a manner that was most productive, effective and efficient. Without her enthusiasm and drive, her ability to produce and edit text, and her personal skills in communication, this difficult task may well have proved impossible. Throughout the project, Barbara was ably assisted by Darla Thompson for research, and by Latricia Bailey (who also guaranteed that a very special product—a baby—would emerge from this study), Toni Greenleaf, James Yates, and temporary staff for administrative tasks. The Director of the Board on Radioactive Waste Management, Kevin Crowley, provided staff and the committee with constant encouragement, guidance and support, as well as specific valuable advice.
Finally, at a personal level, the Chair and Vice-Chair would like to thank all individual members of the committee. Long discussion sessions, longer writing sessions, yet longer conference calls and over 1,500 e-mails testify to the effort that has been put in by all. We have been working in a controversial area. A wide spectrum of views is present in the committee itself and we have a responsibility to present the equally wide spectrum of other stakeholder opinions. We have been working at a sensitive time in the repository program of the United States, so that every statement made by the committee may be subjected to a range of interpretations. This has increased the pressure on the committee members. It is gratifying that friendships have not been lost or weakened by