Reports

The Board conducted an international workshop that focused on the processes for developing consent during the siting of a new radioactive waste facility (consent-based siting). The workshop was held on August 29, 2023, in Idaho Falls, Idaho and virtually. The workshop consisted of a panel of Board members, internationally recognized experts, three of whom were from outside of the United States, and the Department of Energy. These proceedings summarize the workshop presentations, discussions, key themes, and takeaways.

The report is a product of the Board’s multi-year review of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) research and development activities related to the disposition of commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) stored inside U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved dry-storage casks at independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs). The Board’s observations, findings, and recommendations are presented in this report to Congress and the Secretary of Energy.

The Report summarizes Board activities, findings, conclusions, and recommendations from January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2021. During the period, the Board focused on research and development activities undertaken by the U.S. Department of Energy related to the packaging, storage, transportation, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste and integrated waste management system activities for those wastes.

The report is an update of a survey report first issued by the Board in 2009 that was updated in 2016. The report describes 30 technical and institutional attributes of nuclear waste programs in 13 countries.

The Report summarizes Board activities, conclusions, and recommendations from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2018. During the period, the Board focused on activities undertaken by the U.S. Department of Energy related to the packaging, storage, transportation, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste

The report is a product of a multi-year effort, during which the Board reviewed the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) research activities, which have the aim of obtaining data that can enhance the understanding of the performance of high burnup spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in extended storage and transportation conditions.

The report is the current Board members’ synthesis of their nearly decade-long experience reviewing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) activities related to the management and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The report provides the Board member’s six overarching recommendations and associated action items in areas related to (i) ensuring an integrated organizational approach, (ii) anticipating required infrastructure and personnel needs, (iii) expanding the research paradigm to embrace hypothesis testing, (iv) applying an iterative, adaptive waste management program approach, (v) expanding engagement with the international community, and (vi) embracing openness, transparency, and engagement to build public trust.

The report is a product of the Board’s review of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) underground research laboratory (URL)-related research and development activities and their relationship to a spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste disposal program. The Board report presents and evaluates the DOE’s research on complex coupled processes and addresses the use of URL R&D results for developing safety cases and knowledge gap analyses. The report describes the critical role of URLs in technology development and demonstration, training, and public confidence building.

This report is based on the Board’s review of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) research and analysis to support transporting spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The report compiles and discusses the technical and integration issues that DOE will need to address to ensure that SNF and HLW are ready for a nationwide transportation effort to a nuclear waste repository or an interim storage site.

The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (Board) held its 2018 Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C., on March 27, 2018, to review information from several international repository programs related to (i) operational and performance confirmation monitoring of a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and (ii) retrievability of emplaced HLW and SNF. This report presents a summary of the meeting and the Board’s observations related to repository monitoring and retrievability of emplaced HLW and SNF.

This report is based on the Board’s review of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) efforts to manage the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) under its control at four federal facilities.

The Report summarizes Board activities, conclusions, and recommendations from January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2015. During the period, the Board focused on activities undertaken by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) related to the packaging, transportation, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.

This 2016 report is a revision of the survey report issued by the Board in 2009. It describes 30 technical and institutional attributes of nuclear waste programs in 13 countries.

The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (Board) held the International Technical Workshop on Deep Borehole Disposal of Radioactive Waste in Washington, D.C., on October 20 and 21, 2015, to review the technical and scientific validity of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) activities related to assessing the feasibility of using deep boreholes to dispose of some radioactive waste. The Board prepared this report based on its review of DOE reports and presentations at the workshop, as well as on the presentations by and discussions among experts from the U.S. and other countries.

The basis of this report relies on a comparative historical inquiry into two dozen siting efforts that have taken place over the past half century in ten different nations. This version, an overview and summary, is a short synopsis of the major insights that derive from that study.

This report is based on the Board’s review of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports and studies supporting a new DOE initiative involving the development of two mined geologic repositories: one to dispose of defense high-level radioactive waste (HLW) and possibly some DOE-managed spent nuclear fuel (SNF), and another to dispose of commercially generated HLW and SNF, together with other DOE-managed HLW and SNF.

This report documents the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board's activities, findings, and recommendations for the period covering January 2008 through December 2012.

In August 2013, the Board submitted this Report, Review of U.S. Department of Energy’s Activities to Preserve Records Created by the Yucca Mountain Repository Project, on the Board’s evaluation of Department of Energy (DOE) activities related to archiving and preserving materials developed over almost 30 years by the Yucca Mountain repository project.

The purpose of this report is to extract knowledge while it is still available from experiences to date of the Yucca Mountain deep geologic repository program and other management programs for high-activity waste. In this report, the Board examines from a technical perspective the history of the Yucca Mountain program and some other nuclear waste programs and discusses technical information and insights that may be useful for future U.S. high-activity waste management and disposal efforts.

This report describes work being performed by the Board to evaluate the effects on the management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste of various fuel-cycle options being considered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Of particular interest to the Board are the types and quantities of the radioactive waste streams that would be generated. The Board has developed a computer-based systems analysis tool (NUWASTE) to support its technical evaluation of DOE activities in this area. Included in the report are initial findings from NUWASTE analyses.