DOE LOW-LEVEL AND MIXED LOW-LEVEL WASTE DISPOSALCAPACITY ANALYSIS

摘要

The Department of Energy (DOE) periodically prepares a complex-wide life-cycle assessment of thernadequacy of its low-level waste and mixed low-level waste disposal capacity. DOE initially conductedrnthese assessments in response to a 1994 finding by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, and hasrncontinued them in order to monitor its disposal program for capacity shortfalls, completing three of thesernassessments in the past six years. The second assessment, performed in 1998, identified volumetric andrnradiological capacity shortfalls at several DOE disposal facilities. The most recent assessment, completedrnin late 2000, considered low-level and mixed low-level waste originating from approximately 30 DOErngenerating sites between 2000 and 2070. In this assessment, the Department evaluated the volumetric andrnradiological capacities of disposal facilities at six sites, including eight facilities disposing of low-levelrnwaste and two facilities capable of disposing of mixed low-level waste. The assessment also presentedrncompiled information on the disposal of low-level and mixed low-level waste from environmentalrnrestoration activities in CERCLA disposal facilities, and assessed the potential impacts resulting fromrnredirecting some future environmental restoration wastes to existing non-CERCLA disposal facilities.rnThis paper compares the methodology and results of the three analyses prepared to date, identifies thernstrengths and weaknesses of the analyses, discusses how the analyses have been gradually improved, andrnidentifies areas for improvement in future analyses.