Clean Nuclear EnergyAnd its future in The U.S.

PRESENTED BY:

KAYLA ROONEY, MIKE MORRISON, & SHAUN PIERRE

Why do we need a repository?

Spent nuclear fuel and waste are hazardous◦ Remain toxic for thousands of years◦ Environmental damage◦ Cause cancer◦ Other harmful effects/threats

How much is there? 75,000 metric tons

Produced from 80 sites throughout 35 states

Expected to be doubled by 2055

Where is it now? Interim

◦ Temporary designated areas

On-site storage◦ Plants have storage areas

On-Site Storage Problems

Plants generally commissioned for 40 years◦ Some recommission for 20

Storage areas reaching capacity◦ Reracking/organization

60 years to safely decommission a plant

Storage considered safe for another 60 years after that

Permanent Repository Options

Space◦ High costs◦ Risks associated with launch failure

Transmutation to harmless materials◦ High costs◦ Not necessarily 100% effective

Geological

Geological Repositories Nuclear Waste Policy Act, 1982

Yucca Mountain, 1987

Funding shut down in 2010◦ Political reasons◦ Locals unsatisfied

Nuclear power does not have a future without a central waste repository.VIEWPOINT #1

Currently? Nuclear waste generated in the U.S. is stored at or near one of the 121 facilities across the country where it is generated

On Site Storage? In the short term, irradiated reactor fuel should be stored as safely as possible on site or as close to the point of generation as possible for an interim period.

On-site storage is not a sound strategy for the long

term

◦ Possibility of reprocessing

◦ Leaks and accidents

◦ Requires constant monitoring

◦ Destruction of waste storage containers by natural disasters or terrorism

On-site storage is not a sound strategy for the long term

The temporary casks are only licensed to hold radioactive waste for 20 years.

More than 800 filled casks await a final

destination, holding 14,000 metric tons of

waste.

Another 49,000 metric tons is being held in

spent-fuel pools, waiting to be placed in vessels.

A further 2,000 metric tons of nuclear reactor waste is

created every year.

Maine Yankee Facility Nuclear power plant built in Wiscasset, Maine

Operated from 1972-1996

Decommissioned and dismantled between 1997-2005

Left behind: 64 steel and concrete casks that hold 542 metric tons of radioactive waste

Protected by barbed wire, cameras, and a security force

Federal Government’s Obligation to Remove and Dispose of Nuclear Waste

More than 10 years behind schedule

Has paid nuclear utilities $565 million in compensation for costs incurred because of its failure to meet that schedule.

DOE currently estimates that liabilities to electric utilities for such damages will total more than $12 billion if the department begins to accept nuclear waste by 2020.

-Kim Cawley, chief of the Natural and Physical Resources Cost Estimates Unit

Viewpoint 2: Is there a future?

Yes. Nuclear Energy is a modern energy

Still Being debated to use or not◦ Is it safe◦ Is it manageable◦ Will it sustain our growing energy needs

The Building of New Nuclear

In 2005, 30 nations declare first nuclear installs plus 65 claim interests plus 30 already running

14% Global Electricity (2012)

20 apps have been filed with Nuclear Regulatory Commission,18 Col Apps

◦ 28 Reactors/ 18 sites in US

Slow But Sure Progress Bureaucratic Approval/ Re-approvals

Focus on Form and Function

Safety measurements built-in

Cooperation between Govt., Privet, and Safety

This assures the best plants possible

Prepared for all possible scenarios

Remy Carle(SES) French ElectricsNuclear Power (presses Universitaires de France 1994)

Accident prevention, from the initial design stage, through careful sizing of all installations, the taking into account of possible equipment failures and human error, the taking into account of external hazards, the implementation of safety systems, and the quality control of the design and execution of equipment and work

Continuous monitoring during operation, according to procedures monitored by national authorities

Implementation of safety systems to maintain the cooling of nuclear fuel and prevent the release of radioactive products in the event of abnormal operation

Definition of emergency planning and procedures to deal with the highly improbably event of a serious accident

Looking Ahead: Fast Reactors Gen IV, much more efficient

Large cut in waste volume

To this date: Safer than current Reactors

Universal Push ( US, Japan, France)

Aggressive Govt. Support

Govt. loans

Incentives for early investors

Adding a CO2 tax on coal and Natural Gas◦ Ensures competitive cost to Nuclear◦ Pushes Privet investors towards Nuclear

Gallup Polls show support rising

Our consensus A central repository is necessary for nuclear power’s future

Work-sited

Ahearne, John F, Albert V. Carr, JR. Harold A Felveson, Daniel Ingersoll, Andrew C Klein, Stephen Maloney, Ivan Oelrich, Sharon Swuassoni, and Richard Wolfson. "The Future Of Nuclear Power In The United States." Ed. Charles C Ferguson and Frank A Settle. Federation Of American Scientists/ Wahsington and Lee University, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. Nov. 2014. <http://fas.org/pubs/_docs/Nuclear_Energy_Report-lowres.pdf>.

"Fast Neutron Reactors." World Nuclear Association. World Nuclear Association, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. Nov. 2014. <http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Current-and-Future-Generation/Fast-Neutron-Reactors/>.

http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/climate/dirtyenergy/nuclear.cfm http://ieer.org/resource/factsheets/yucca-mountain/ http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/nuclear-faq.html http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/ticking-time-bombs-what-should-we-do-with-nuclear-waste/?tag=content%3Bcol1

http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2014/09/16/surface-storage-of-used-nuclear-fuel-safe-cost-effective-and-flexible/