Part 1 of 2 Parts
     One of the biggest problems of nuclear power generation is the creation of spent nuclear fuel waste that is radioactive and dangerous for many years. There have been tests of using deep geological repositories to store spent nuclear fuel but, so far, actual permanent geological repositories for spent nuclear fuel do not yet exist. The development of nuclear weapons produces a variety of types of radioactive waste with different levels of radioactivity. A great deal of toxic radioactive waste was poured into unlined pits at Hanford and still threatens the ground water. There is a lot of toxic radioactive waste buried in leaking tanks at Hanford.
     There is a special geological repository located in New Mexico called the Waste Isolation Plant which was constructed to take some of the waste stream from nuclear weapons work. However, because of a serious accident involving the exploding of a barrel of waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, this accident shut down the WIPP for several years while repairs were made. The repository is open again.
     The administration of President Biden has affirmed an interpretation of high-level radioactive waste that is based on the radioactivity of a particular quantity of waste rather than how exactly the radioactive waste was produced. The U.S. Department of Energy announcement last week means that some radioactive waste from nuclear weapons production stored in Idaho, Washington and South Carolina could be reclassified and moved from current storage facilities to permanent storage in another location.
      The Agency’s announcement to the Associated Press yesterday said, “After extensive policy and legal assessment, DOE affirmed that the interpretation is consistent with the law, guided by the best available science and data, and that the views of members of the public and the scientific community were considered in its adoption.”
      The affirmation by the Biden administration came after consideration of various letters of support and opposition sent to the agency after the election of President Biden. The notice filed by the DoE in the Federal Register clarified exactly what the position of the new administration meant for the classification of radioactive waste. Biden has reversed some of Trump’s policies in other areas but decided that he agreed with Trump on the waste reclassification.
      This policy change specifically has to do with radioactive waste generated from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel to build nuclear warheads. This radioactive waste has previously been characterized as high-level waste. The new interpretation from the Biden administration applies to waste that includes such things as sludge, slurry, liquid, debris and contaminated equipment from national laboratories reprocessing radioactive waste.
     The DoE stated that making disposal decision based on radioactive characteristics rather than how it became radioactive could allow the DoE to focus on other high-priority cleanup projects, reduce the length of time that radioactive waste is stored at Energy Department facilities and increase safety for workers, communities and the environment.
     The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future was created during the administration of Barrack Obama. The new approach to waste classification was supported by the Commission. The DoE has identified three sites where waste is being stored that will be receiving some of the reclassified waste.   
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