NSNFP Activities in Support of Repository Licensing for Disposal of DOE SNF

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management is in the process of preparing the Yucca Mountain license application for submission to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as the nation’s first geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste. Because the DOE SNF will be part of the license application, there are various components of the license application that will require information relative to the DOE SNF. The National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program (NSNFP) is the organization that directs the research, development, and testing of treatment, shipment, and disposal technologies for all DOE SNF. This report documents the work activities conducted by the NSNFP and discusses the relationship between these NSNFP technical activities and the license application. A number of the NSNFP activities were performed to provide risk insights and understanding of DOE SNF disposal as well as to prepare for anticipated questions from the regulatory agency.