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October 26, 2001 

Nuclear Experts Respond to Yucca Mountain IssueAlert 


By Robert C. Bellemare
Vice President

Brian O'Connell, P.E., Director of Nuclear Waste Program Office for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), and Janet Schlueter, Chief of Staff and Nuclear Materials Assistant for Commissioner Edward McGaffigan of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), sent us several clarifying points concerning Yucca Mountain and nuclear waste, which we believe should be shared with our readership. 

The action taken by the NRC on October 23 was not an "approval" of the Yucca Mountain site. What the NRC approved was the "site suitability guidelines"-the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Part 963 general repository siting guidelines that the DOE will use to evaluate Yucca Mountain when it submits a recommendation to the President on whether the site is "suitable" for the repository purpose. Then, after the unusual approval procedures of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), the next step would be to submit a license application to the NRC to build the repository. The Commission's concurrence on DOE's general repository siting rule is separate and distinct from any comments NRC may have on DOE's preliminary site suitability recommendation. 

According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), 2,000 metric tons are generated by the nuclear industry per year, not 30,000 tons per year as we reported. The entire industry has produced about 40,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel over the past four decades. 

Finally, the federal government may not be able to avoid responsibility for the actual transport of nuclear materials to Yucca Mountain. Section 137(a)(2) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act does call for the DOE to "utilize by contract private industry to the fullest extent possible." Regardless of whether the shipments are made by the government or contractors, all shipments must meet NRC and other federal and state regulatory requirements. 

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