Title: Factors Affecting the Disposal Capacity of a Repository at Yucca Mountain
Abstract: The development of a repository at Yucca Mountain is proceeding in accordance with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA). The current design of the proposed repository emplaces 63,000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) of commercial spent nuclear fuel and 7,000 MTHM-equivalent of Department of Energy-owned spent nuclear fuel and high level nuclear waste. Efforts are underway to complete the pre-closure and postclosure safety analyses in accordance with 10 CFR 63. This will be included in a license application for construction of the repository that is currently planned to be submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) no later than June of 2008. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) aims to 'recycle nuclear fuel using new proliferation-resistant technologies to recover more energy and reduce waste'. The Nation's decision to choose to recycle spent nuclear fuel in an advanced nuclear fuel cycle, such as that being considered under the GNEP, would present the opportunity to change the current approach for managing and disposing nuclear waste. The total amount of waste that could be disposed in a repository at Yucca Mountain would be a key component of a new waste management strategy should a decision be made in the future tomore » utilize the proposed Yucca Mountain repository to dispose of wastes generated under the GNEP. (authors)« less
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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