U S Nuclear Waste

"Provides information about nuclear waste in the United States-- what it is, where it comes from, how it has been managed, and what we can do with it in the future"--Page 1.

This book recounts the issues raised and the viewpoints aired at a recent symposium on repository licensing. It summarizes the problems surrounding the setting of an Environmental Protection Agency standard for the release of radionuclides and the regulatory problems inherent in meeting such a standard. Symposium participants came from a variety of federal agencies and advisory groups, state governments, public interest groups, engineering firms, national laboratories, and foreign and international organizations. The book illustrates the strong feeling in the radioactive waste disposal community that changes must be made if the United States is to fulfill its promise of safe management of current and future nuclear waste.

The origins of the current nuclear waste disposal crisis and directions for future policy

This report looks at the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), Yucca Mountain, and the Obama Administration's de-funding of Yucca Mountain. Federal policy is based on the premise that nuclear waste can be disposed of safely, but proposed storage and disposal facilities have frequently been challenged on safety, health, and environmental grounds. Most of the current debate surrounding civilian radioactive waste focuses on highly radioactive spent fuel from nuclear power plants.

Focused attention by world leaders is needed to address the substantial challenges posed by disposal of spent nuclear fuel from reactors and high-level radioactive waste from processing such fuel. The biggest challenges in achieving safe and secure storage and permanent waste disposal are societal, although technical challenges remain. Disposition of radioactive wastes in a deep geological repository is a sound approach as long as it progresses through a stepwise decision-making process that takes advantage of technical advances, public participation, and international cooperation. Written for concerned citizens as well as policymakers, this book was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and waste management organizations in eight other countries.

If you care about the environment and the rule of law, then its essential to consider how politics is driving the way were approaching nuclear energy. Robert L. Ferguson, a nuclear energy insider whos spent more than fifty years working in the field, details how he partnered with others to wage a legal battle against two of the most powerful men in the world President Barack Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and won. The stakes were high: President Obama and his administration suddenly and illegally shut down the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, which violated the law and was a smack in the face to residents of 38 states that expected spent nuclear fuel to be buried at a central location. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to hold elected officials accountable and ensure that theyre not allowed to flagrantly violate the law. If you dont take time to analyze the issues and do your part to improve U.S. energy policy, you may just end up with Nuclear Waste in Your Backyard indefinitely. Bob Ferguson has written an important bookhis analysis is right on target. I highly recommend his book to be read and acted upon by every American concerned about how partisan politics can trump good science. Such action is especially important for those in positions of policy development. Dr. Alan Waltar, past president of the American Nuclear Society and author of America the Powerless