The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy recommended separate repository disposal pathways for DOE-managed high-level waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from commercial HLW and SNF, according to
its report on co-mingling released yesterday. The report “considers whether DOE-managed HLW and SNF should be disposed of with commercial SNF and HLW in one geologic repository or whether there are advantages to developing separate geologic disposal pathways for some DOE-managed HLW and SNF,” DOE said. In its conclusions, the report says DOE-managed HLW and SNF should be disposed of first due to the fewer challenges they pose, resulting in a simpler repository design and licensing processes, while engendering confidence in its ability to dispose of waste and meet its environmental management goals.
The report recommended moving forward with a consent-based plan for a repository for the DOE-managed waste while also doing research and development on deep borehole disposal of smaller waste forms. “Specifically, this report recommends that the DOE begin implementation of a phased, adaptive, and consent-based strategy with development of a separate mined repository for some DOE-managed HLW and cooler DOE-managed SNF, potentially including some portion of the inventory of naval SNF,” the report said. “This report notes that, in addition to early development of a separate repository for cooler DOE-managed HLW and SNF, effective implementation of a strategy for management and disposal of all HLW and SNF would also include a focused research, development, and demonstration program addressing technologies relevant to deep borehole disposal of smaller DOE-managed waste forms and the disposal of large DOE managed waste packages with high thermal loads in mined repositories.”
