Abstract
The nuclear industry in the United States of America has accumulated about 70,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste over the past decades; at present, this waste is temporarily stored close to the nuclear power plants. The industry and the Department of Energy are now facing two related challenges: (i) will a permanent geological repository, e.g., Yucca Mountain, become available in the future, and if yes, when?; (ii) should the high-level waste be transported to interim storage facilities in the meantime, which may be safer and more cost economic? This paper presents a mathematical transportation model that evaluates the economic challenges and costs associated with different scenarios regarding the opening of a long-term geological repository. The model results suggest that any further delay in opening a long-term storage increases cost and consolidated interim storage facilities should be built now. We show that Yucca Mountain’s capacity is insufficient and additional storage is necessary. A sensitivity analysis for the reprocessing of high-level waste finds this uneconomic in all cases. This paper thus emphasizes the urgency of dealing with the high-level nuclear waste and informs the debate between the nuclear industry and policymakers on the basis of objective data and quantitative analysis.
Highlights
The United States of America have more nuclear power plants (NPPs) than any other country in the world
The scale of the industry results in great amounts of nuclear waste: The commercial production of electricity has produced over 70,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), meaning high-level waste (HLW), over the last decades [2]
With respect to the current situation, we developed a model of HLW transportation and storage in the U.S It is a transportation model which includes a network consisting of all reactors in the U.S, as well as potential final repositories and potential locations for interim storages
Summary
The United States of America have more nuclear power plants (NPPs) than any other country in the world. The DOE was not able to come up with disposal solutions until now and is currently paying significant amounts of money to the energy companies running the NPPs in order to compensate them for having to store the nuclear waste for such long periods of time. Commission (BRC) on America’s Nuclear Future (The BRC was created in 2010 to conduct research and recommend a plan of action for the U.S waste management and disposal of SNF) [4], inciting the DOE to release a strategy paper the following year This strategy paper contains a program the Administration plans to implement in order to approach the HLW storage problem and to fulfill its obligations regarding the waste management.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call