Nuclear disposal company backs NIC plan

California-based Deep Isolation has praised the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council for its plan to address nuclear waste disposal policy in the United States, including establishment of an independent body outside the Department of Energy. 

The NIC’s action plan, Action Plan for Transforming the Back End of the U.S. Nuclear Fuel Cycle, provides an outline for providing permanent disposal of the country’s high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The plan was published June 13. 

The plan calls for the creation of an independent waste management entity, access to the existing Nuclear Waste Fund, and a collaboration-based siting approach. The plan seeks integration of technologies such as deep borehole disposal and recycling.

The idea of setting up a nuclear spent fuel organization outside DOE has been around for more than a decade, having been proposed by a commission appointed by President Barack Obama.

“Along with many industry and government reports issued since the 2012 final report by the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, an industry consensus has fully emerged and has now made clear: spent nuclear fuel disposal must be managed independently of the DOE, a large federal and bureaucracy agency with a broad mandate and many offices and programs to oversee,” NIC said in its plan. 

“To date, the U.S. has accumulated around 92,500 metric tons of SNF, growing by 2,000 metric tons annually,” the NIC plan said. “This waste is stored at over 70 sites across 35 states, in temporary facilities not designed for permanent, long-term containment.”

Deep Isolation, a nuclear waste technology based in Berkeley, Calif., specializes in deep borehole disposal technology. The company successfully tested its Universal Canister System to manage TRISO spent nuclear fuel in coordination with Kairos Power.

“This is a pivotal moment for nuclear energy and for the country,” CEO of Deep Isolation Rod Baltzer said in its Monday press release, Baltzer heads the NIC Backend Working Group.

“USNIC is providing an actionable plan on how to break through decades of paralysis on waste disposal. The plan recognizes that the market is evolving, technologies are advancing, and communities are increasingly willing to be part of the solution.”

Deep Isolation also supported NIC’s plan in calling for legislative reform of the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Act. 

Deep Isolation’s proposal would allow for federal engagement with private-sector and community-led nuclear disposal efforts.

“While full modernization of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act may ultimately be needed, this immediate step would empower the DOE to begin evaluating new disposal options, including Deep Isolation’s patented deep borehole disposal technology – and empower innovators to work with willing communities to develop safe, permanent, and cost‑effective options for the future,” Baltzer said.

NIC’s action plan was made in alignment with President Donald Trump’s administration executive order Reinvigorating the Nuclear industrial Base. Deep Isolation previously praised that executive action.