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| Fig. 1: A Spent Fuel Pool at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente, California. (Source: Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of the NRC.) - |
Nuclear waste is generally classified as either low-level waste or high-level waste.
Low-level waste includes items that have been exposed to neutron radiation as exemplified by contaminated resins, filters, wood, paper, plastics, pipes, structural steel and pressure vessels. [1]
Low-level waste which is not allowed to decay onsite until it can be disposed of as regular garbage, is shipped to a low-level waste disposal site in Department of Transportation (DOT) approved containers.
High-level waste is characterized by used reactor fuel when it is accepted for disposal. As the NRC notes, radioactive waste undergoes hundreds of thousands of years of decay. After fission, the high-level waste is removed from the reactor core and stored onsite either in (1) Spent fuel pools or (2) Dry cask storage. [2] See Figs. 1 and 2, respectively.
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 stipulates that the polluter pays full costs of disposal. [3] The Department of Energy, representing the U.S. government, has the responsibility for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste with its receipt at a civilian reactor to ultimate delivery as expeditiously as possible upon request of the operator. [4]
The authority for DOE's obligation to provide waste disposal is provided by the DOE Organization Act and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. [3,5]
The plant operator is responsible for providing DOE with (1) total spent nuclear fuel inventory, and (2) the total number of fuel assemblies removed from the reactor core, and indicating the current planned dates for reinsertion to the core; Estimates of burned and unburned portion of each individual assembly is to be provided. [4] The operator is responsible for providing and arranging for all preparation, packaging, required inspections, and loading activities necessary for the transportation of the high-level waste to the DOE facility with notification made to the latter 60 days prior to commencement of such activities. [4] DOE may designate a representative to observe preparatory activities conducted by the operator on site and access will be made to the said representative. The operator will also advise the DOE 60 days prior to scheduled DOE transportation shipping the material description. [4] While DOE furnishes shipping casks to the operator, the latter will be liable for any loss or damage to the casks while under the operators possession. DOE also provides a written procedures for cask handling and loading, training for operator cask handling and loading, technical information special tools, equipment, lifting trunnions, spare parts and consumables needed to use and perform incidental maintenance on casks and sufficient documentation of supplied equipment. [4]
DOE accepts title to all waste received. It is responsible for transportation to the DOE facility, and ultimate disposal. It will issue an annual acceptance priority ranking for receipt of high-level waste at the DOE repository as well as an annual capacity report. [4] Operators will submit to the DOE the delivery schedules which identify all high-level waste the operator wishes to deliver to DOE 63 months out. Should receipt be disapproved, DOE will advise the purchaser in writing of reasons for disapproval and request a revised schedule from the Purchaser to be submitted to DOE within 30 days of receipt of DOEs notice of disapproval. DOE can subsequently approve or disapprove revised schedules within 60 days after receipt. [4] Operators are to submit to DOE final delivery schedules no less than a year prior to the delivery date. DOE issues approval/disapproval within 45 days after receipt. [4] Fees will be paid by operators to the DOE on a quarterly basis. Payment can either be 1. Split over 40 quarters or 2. Paid in lump sum prior to first delivery. [4] Both the government and operator will be exempt from force majeure damages. If there are any delays in delivery, acceptance, or transport, the contract charges and schedules will be equitably adjusted to reflect any additional costs incurred by the noncontributory party. [4] The contract can be suspended by DOE upon written notice to the purchaser within 90 days of the operator's failure to perform its obligations and subsequent failure to take corrective action within 30 days after written notice of said failure.
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| Fig. 2: Dry Onsite Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel in Storage Casks. (Source: Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of the NRC.) - |
Should a nuclear renaissance take place in the U.S, DOE's obligations will correspondingly increase as the sole arbiter of high-level waste disposal. The U.S. federal government is presently paying breach of contract penalties to nuclear plant operators because it is prevented by political developments from honoring its contractual obligations. [6] Therefore, the DOE's inability to honor its contractual responsibility constitutes breach of contract due to political impossibility. The DOE also has the unfortunate circumstance of being the entity demanding that contract be entered into ab initio and arbitrating the terms of its own breach of contract. Until a national repository is approved and built, current practices of on-site cooling and storage with terminal delivery to the DOE is likely to remain. However, should a more permanent site fail to be established and developed, sites will remain saddled with onsite waste. This bodes poorly for a nuclear electric power renaissance in the short term. In the long term, there is a real risk that the nation's nuclear fleet of zero emissions carbon free electricity will be forced to shutdown due to an inability to properly handle and store its waste.
© James Daniel. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] K. Ling, "Low-Level Waste Emerges as Hurdle For New Nuclear Reactors," New York Times, 16 Mar 10.
[2] J. Malewitz, "West Texas Site Wants Nation's Spent Nuclear Fuel," Texas Tribune, 9 Feb 15.
[3] "The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982," Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2201, 7 Jan 83, 42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq..
[4] "Standard Contract For Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste," U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, 10 CFR 961, February 2024.
[5] "DOE Organization Act of 1977," Pub. L. 95-91, 91 Stat. 565, 4 Aug 77, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.
[6] S. Patel, "A Break in the Nuclear Waste Impasse," Power Magazine, 1 Mar 18.
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