Fourth Report to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Secretary of Energy from theNuclear Waste Technical Review Board

摘要

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (the Board) submitted its Fourth Reportas required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, Public Law 100-203. Congress created the Board to evaluate the technical and scientific aspects of the Department of Energy's (DOE) program to manage the permanent disposal of the nation's civilian spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Specifically, the Board is evaluating site-characterization activities at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as well as repository design features that could influence spent fuel packaging and transport activities. As a result of its most recent scientific and technical review of the DOE's civilian radioactive waste disposal program, the Board would like to make several recommendations that it believes will help the DOE in its efforts to characterize the Yucca Mountain site as well as to develop an efficient civilian radioactive waste disposal program. In the report, the Board has suggested that the DOE consider some enhancements to its design approach and schedule for the construction of the exploratory studies facility, the key component to underground site characterization. The Board believes that these enhancements would help in achieving an earlier determination of site suitability, which will require both subsurface and surface-based site characterization. In this way, given adequate funding and the necessary permits, the DOE should be able to progress toward the major milestones of the program in a timely and efficient manner.