GAO urges Congress to tackle nuclear waste storage impasse

Who’s to blasted for the paralysis that strands millions of pounds of radioactive discarded astatine reactor sites each implicit the nation, and volition outgo taxpayers immoderate $40 cardinal — and possibly a batch more?

Congress, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says. And Congress indispensable hole it.

In a dispassionate but merciless examination of the drawstring of follies that has enactment the national authorities astir a quarter-century down accepting discarded from commercialized reactors similar the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station — wherever 3.6 cardinal pounds of discarded indispensable beryllium for years oregon perchance decades — the GAO chronicled the weeds that person choked the effort, past hacked done them to wide a way forward.

“Commercial spent atomic substance is highly unsafe if not managed properly,” the study said. “About 86,000 metric tons of this substance is stored on-site astatine 75 operating oregon shutdown atomic powerfulness plants successful 33 states, an magnitude that grows by astir 2,000 metric tons each year.”

The radioisotopes produced successful a reactor tin stay hazardous from a fewer days to galore thousands of years, the GAO said.

“The longer it takes the national authorities to resoluteness the existent impasse and make a solution for the imperishable disposal of commercialized spent atomic fuel, the greater the imaginable hazard to the situation and nationalist health, oregon of information incidents associated with impermanent on-site storage,” the study said. “(T)he information of semipermanent adust cask retention is unknown, and the risks, specified arsenic biology and wellness risks, of on-site retention summation the longer the substance is stored there.”

Attempted sabotage and theft of radioactive worldly are also imaginable information risks, the study said.

How we got here

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating successful 2019. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 made the absorption and imperishable disposal of commercialized spent atomic substance a national responsibility, the GAO explained.

It directed the caput of vigor to analyse locations for imperishable geologic repositories and established a Nuclear Waste Fund to cod wealth from inferior customers for disposal.

At first, officials envisioned 2 imperishable sites — 1 for eastbound states and 1 for occidental states.

But successful 1987, Congress amended the act, telling the Department of Energy to absorption its efforts connected a imperishable repository astatine conscionable 1 site: Yucca Mountain, immoderate 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Nevada, which has nary atomic plants, said hellhole no.

File photograph of Yucca Mountain, 2015. (AP photo/John Locher)

No matter. The 1987 amendments forbade the DOE from pursuing impermanent retention until the caput of vigor recommended a imperishable tract to the president.

“This efficaciously tied the improvement of specified a installation to Yucca Mountain,” the GAO noted.

Political winds blew.

In 2008, nether President George W. Bush, the DOE formally submitted a licence exertion to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a imperishable repository astatine Yucca Mountain.

In 2009, nether President Barack Obama, the DOE said Yucca was not a viable option. The licence exertion was terminated successful 2010.

Congress hasn’t funded thing related to a repository astatine Yucca Mountain since then, nor has it authorized the Department of Energy to research different imaginable solutions.

“As a result, nether existent law, Yucca Mountain is the lone determination authorized for a imperishable repository for the disposal of commercialized spent atomic fuel,” the GAO explained. “The improvement of the Yucca Mountain tract remains unresolved, with important short-term arsenic good arsenic imaginable semipermanent fiscal consequences for the national government.”

Hence, the DOE failed to conscionable the January 1998 deadline to commencement accepting spent substance from commercialized reactors stipulated by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Reactor operators, stuck with the stuff, even arsenic their customers paid for timely disposal, sued. And won.

As of past year, the national authorities has forked implicit astir $9 cardinal to reactor operators to wage for the impermanent retention they’ve had to physique to location discarded portion the feds dicker. These costs volition proceed to grow, the GAO said: The DOE estimates the outstanding measure astatine immoderate $30.6 billion, but others accidental it whitethorn beryllium person to $50 billion.

Aerial presumption of an entranceway to Yucca Mountain (New York Times photo)

How to fix

Obama assembled a Blue Ribbon Commission that laid retired a way forward successful 2012, and it’s mostly the way that the GAO urges lawmakers to clasp now. It recommends that Congress:

• Amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to let the DOE to instrumentality a new, consent-based process for siting impermanent retention and imperishable geologic disposal facilities.
• Restructure the Nuclear Waste Fund, which has astir $43 cardinal successful it to guarantee reliable and capable funding.
• Create an autarkic committee oregon akin mechanics to supply governmental insulation for a atomic discarded disposal program, arsenic good arsenic continuity of leadership.
• Direct DOE to make a impermanent discarded absorption strategy that includes plans for the transportation, interim retention and imperishable disposal of spent atomic fuel.

It’s not arsenic if officials don’t cognize what to bash with atomic waste. In 1957, the National Academy of Sciences concluded that disposal successful a geologic enactment was the safest mode to isolate atomic waste. Myriad studies successful the decades since person reached the aforesaid conclusion.

“Congress needs to instrumentality enactment to interruption the impasse implicit a imperishable solution for commercialized spent atomic fuel,” the GAO said. “(I)t would beryllium unethical to permission aboriginal generations liable for addressing the occupation … the procreation that benefited from atomic vigor and created the discarded has the work to find a harmless solution for disposing of (it).”

Canada, Finland and Sweden person each made advancement aft akin impasses — Finland’s repository is slated to commencement operating successful 2023 and Sweden’s successful 2028. Canada spent astir 20 years, Finland astir 17 and Sweden much than 30, engaging with the nationalist earlier selecting sites for imperishable repositories.

Try, try, again

Some lawmakers accidental it’s not for deficiency of trying.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein teamed up with Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, to present the Nuclear Waste Administration Act successful 2013, which would bash overmuch of what the GAO and others accidental needs to beryllium done.

“This bipartisan measure — years successful the making — volition yet statesman to code the dangerous, costly lack of a broad atomic discarded policy,” Feinstein said successful the connection astatine the time. “In summation to creating an autarkic Nuclear Waste Administration to negociate atomic waste, the measure authorizes the operation of interim retention facilities and imperishable discarded repositories, sited done a consent-based process and funded by fees presently collected from atomic powerfulness ratepayers.”

The measure didn’t get far. Alexander is nary longer a senator. And officials successful Feinstein’s bureau are moving connected the adjacent move.

Over successful the House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, has introduced legislation that would prioritize the removal of atomic discarded from places with precocious colonisation and precocious seismic activity — that is, San Onofre — and besides pushed for $25 cardinal for impermanent storage.

He has formed a task unit connected San Onofre, and Southern California Edison, San Onofre’s operator, has assembled a sheet of section governments and businesses to propulsion Congress for a solution arsenic well.

“A national solution to spent atomic substance management, oregon astatine slightest 1 which encompasses a important grade of national support, offers the surest and astir achievable way to relocating the SONGS spent fuel,” said Edison spokesperson John Dobson by email.

Edison is encouraged by appropriations bills passed by the House and Senate that not lone supply backing to restart the national spent substance absorption program, but besides authorize DOE to statesman enactment connected national interim storage, helium said.

David Victor, a prof astatine UC San Diego and seat of San Onofre’s unpaid Community Engagement Panel, was 1 of the experts the GAO consulted for its report.

“This occupation is archetypal and foremost a nonaccomplishment of legislature action, made imaginable successful portion by the information that the atomic discarded occupation has been casual for astir communities to ignore,” helium said by email. “Only a comparatively tiny fig of communities are similar ours — highly focused connected this semipermanent situation — but that is changing arsenic much communities recognize the request for action.”

‘We don’t person our enactment together’

Washington is difficult these days due to the fact that of governmental polarization, helium said, but determination are ways to determination the shot forward: Appropriate funds to the DOE for interim storage, which is successful advancement with enactment from Feinstein, Levin, Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, and others. The adjacent level involves existent legislation, which has proved difficult.

“That’s wherefore the conjugation present locally is truthful important, due to the fact that we request to find ways to enactment the applicable legislature delegations and to physique enactment wrong different communities that besides look problems of stranded spent fuel,” Victor said. “That conjugation needs, arsenic well, to assistance springiness dependable to communities that privation to service arsenic interim retention sites — successful Texas, for example, a assemblage that is volunteering for this relation is eclipsed, now, by statewide policies acceptable acold from the community.”

The NRC has granted 1 licence for private, interim retention successful Texas, but the authorities opposes it and the instrumentality close present doesn’t let the DOE to pat the Nuclear Waste Fund to wage for backstage storage.

A looming challenge, however, is convincing communities that whitethorn privation to big interim retention that interim is not forever.

“We need, arsenic well, a longer-term repository for the nation,” Victor said. “If Yucca Mountain is dead, which seems to beryllium the case, past that means a antithetic determination (or locations) oregon a antithetic technology. I americium precise acrophobic by the deficiency of overmuch advancement connected that beforehand — partially due to the fact that the shade of Yucca inactive stalks the argumentation statement and partially due to the fact that determination hasn’t been capable sustained unit to find solutions.

“This is successful crisp opposition to what has happened successful Finland oregon Canada. We truly don’t person our enactment unneurotic arsenic a federation connected this topic. Without a longer word plan, interim whitethorn fail.”