Nuclear Waste Management: Some Considerations of Scale

Abstract

Existing and future radioactive wastes from civil and military nuclear activities must be managed in such a way as to pose no significant threat to the health and safety of occupational personnel and the general public. There is broad agreement within the informed technical community that the technologies required for safe nuclear waste management and disposal can be made available. Past efforts in this area have not been successful in dispelling public concern, however, and there persists a widespread lack of confidence that the fundamental objective of waste management will be met. The future of the civil nuclear power industry in the United States and in several other countries throughout the world rests in significant part on the resolution of the nuclear waste management issue. Two sets of conditions must be realized if future nuclear waste management efforts are to be successful. First, an adequate foundation of scientific understanding and technological capabilities must be created; and second, if these capabilities are to be implemented successfully on an industrial scale, a political and institutional framework must be established which will foster the development of the necessary levels of political consensus, managerial efficiency, and operational reliability. The forthcoming technological and institutional choicesmore » are each importantly influenced by the scale of the waste management system. The present and projected requirements for treatment, transportation, and interim and final storage of the various classes of radioactive wastes are reviewed. Existing arrangements for storage of spent power reactor fuel are in urgent need of attention. Unless additional storage capacity is provided, some operating reactors will be forced to shut down in the near future. The background to the present situation is analyzed, and some recommendations for government and industry action are presented.« less