responsiblenuclearwastedisposal.docVIP

Responsible Nuclear Waste Disposal: An Unmet Obligation A White Paper Sponsored by: The New England Council, Inc. Yankee Atomic Electric Company Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company Updated and Expanded February 2001Table of Contents Introduction: DOE’s Unmet Obligation 1 White Paper Sponsors 2 Used Fuel High Level Waste: Storage Sites in New England 3 Used Nuclear Fuel Management: A Federal Responsibility 4 Yucca Mountain: $6 Billion Spent to Determine Suitability 5 Consumer Cost: $700 Million/year for DOE’s Unmet Obligation 6 Continued Used Fuel On-Site Storage: Dual-Purpose Method 7 Interim Storage: The Centralized Option is Best 8 Used Fuel at Shutdown Plants: Priority Removal is Needed 9 Used Fuel Transportation: Safety has been Demonstrated 10 DOE Transportation of Used Fuel: The Need to Begin Now 11 Responsible Action Now for Used Fuel: New England Support 12 Responsible Action Now for Used Fuel: National Support 14 Text Endnotes 15  Introduction: DOE’s Unmet Obligation The federal government has always had the responsibility for the safe storage of nuclear waste from the U.S. military, research reactors, including some from foreign reactors, and commercial power plants. For more than 50 years, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has accepted nuclear waste from all these facilities — except U.S. commercial power plants. After the passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, consumers of electricity from nuclear power plants were required to pay an additional charge in their electric bills. In return, DOE signed a contract with nuclear plant owners to begin removing used fuel and high-level nuclear waste (primarily the steel components that supported the fuel during plant operation) starting in January 1998. After almost twenty years and the collection of more than $17 billion — $1.4 billion coming from New England consumers — DOE has defaulted on its contract and has not yet