The Department of Energy hopes this year to issue a report to Congress on disposal of Greater Than Class C waste and receive clarity on what action from Capitol Hill is needed to advance the long-brewing effort to permanently deal with the radioactive material, a DOE official said last week.
The federal government is legally responsible for disposing of what is ultimately expected to be about 12,000 cubic meters of GTCC and GTCC-like waste: activated metals from commercial nuclear power plants, sealed sources from hospitals and universities, and other waste from environmental cleanup operations, said Theresa Kliczewski, DOE GTCC environmental impact statement (EIS) document manager. A February 2016 EIS from the agency identified storage at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant geologic repository in New Mexico and/or generic commercial facilities as the preferred means of permanent storage of this waste.
The report is now going through the concurrence process with stakeholders, after which it can be sent to Congress, said Kliczewski, who acknowledged the measured pace of progress since the EIS was issued more than a year ago: “It takes time. We had a lot of people that are interested in GTCC disposal. We also have a very large event that occurred, which is the election, and so the timing of the report just got impacted by those factors.”
Speaking at the Waste Management Symposium in Phoenix, Kliczewski said the legally mandated document will address matters including the characteristics, volumes, and quantities of the waste; disposal alernatives under consideration, including federal and nonfederal options; projected costs; and what the disposal beneficiaries would be expected to pay.
Next, Congress would have to take action, though exactly what form that would take remains to be determined, according to Kliczewski. The Department of Energy could then issue a record of decision formally establishing its disposal plan.
