Nuclear Waste Policy Act

Agency (EPA), which was established in 1970, the same year the first Clean Air Act was passed into law. In 1972 the Clean Water Act became law, and in 1973 the Endangered Species Act became law. Other important federal environmental legislation includes the Resource Consei vation and Recoveiy Act, passed in 1976 the Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 the Nuclear Waste Policy Acts of 1982 and 1987 and the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Acts of 1980 and 1985. From 1980 to 2000 these environmental regulations, and the enforcement efforts of the EPA, have had a much greater impact on decisions made in the energy industiy than all the policy initiatives implemented by the DOE. 

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 [NWPA (1982)] as amended in 1987, contains the current statutory definitions of spent nuclear... 

Spent nuclear fuel is a form of high-level waste in some definitions [e.g., NRC s 10 CFR Part 60 (NRC, 1983)] but not in others [e.g., the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA, 1982)]. This inconsistency is not important, because spent fuel and the primary waste from fuel reprocessing have similar radiological properties and require similar precautions for safe handling, storage, and disposal. Spent fuel is not a waste until it is so declared. 

Statutory and Regulatory Definitions. Current statutory definitions of low-level waste are contained in NWPA (1982) and the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act (LLRWPAA, 1986). In the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, low-level waste is defined as radioactive waste that ... 

NWPA (1982). Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Public Law 97-425 (January 7, 1983), 96 Stat. 2201, as amended in 1987, Public Law 100-203 (December 22, 1987), 101 Stat. 1330 (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington). 

Finally, Mike McCormack, former Washington state Congressman, discusses the Federal legislation affecting nuclear waste disposal in the United States and the impact of several new laws passed by the Congress— the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980. 

On January 7, 1983, President Reagan signed into law The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 for the management and storage of high-level, commercial nuclear waste and spent fuel. As a result, the Department of Energy has established a Nuclear Waste Policy Act Project Office. Its new director, Robert L. Morgan, has initiated a coordinated effort to meet the elaborate set of near-term actions that are required by this complex law. 

Because of its controversial nature, no nuclear waste generated over the past 50 years has been permanently disposed of. However, in 1982 the U.S. Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which established a timetable for choosing and preparing sites for deep underground disposal of radioactive materials. The program is funded by a tax of 0.1% per kilowatt hour on electricity generated by nuclear power. 

Choosing the waste repository sites is an especially sensitive issue. Many states have resisted the plan, but Congress has the power to override a state s disapproval. In fact, Congress amended the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in 1987 to make Yucca Mountain in Nevada the primary potential site. Studies are now being carried out to evaluate the feasibility of this site as a safety repository for nuclear waste. 

Research has focused on Yucca Mountain, Nevada, at the western edge of the National Test Site, for its suitability as a nuclear waste repository for SNF and some defense waste. Many political leaders of Nevada strongly oppose this plan, and they seriously question that nuclear waste can be safely kept out of the human environment for 10,000 years, as is required under the federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act. 

Public Law 96-573.1980. Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980, Washington, DC. Public Law 97-425.1983, as amended 1987. Nuclear Waste Policy Act for Fiscal Year 1989, Section 1433, Washington, DC. 

In 1982, lawmakers passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which established a program to build this countiy s first underground nuclear waste repositoiy, a permanent disposal site for nuclear waste. In 1987, Yucca Mountain, Nevada, was chosen for study as a potential site. The stable rock formations deep underground combined with sparse population and little rainfall make it an ideal location for the site. Nuclear waste will be encased in several layers of containment material and placed in tunnels drilled out of the rock formations 1000 ft beneath the ground. The storage facility should keep these materials isolated from us and from the environment for the foreseeable future. However, as might be expected, the construction of the facility is controversial, with many opposing even the idea. The facility had been scheduled to be operational in 2010, but delays have pushed back that date to 2017 at the earliest. 

With over 33 laws on the books and their companion regulations, it is an almost impossible task to know which laws and their regulations apply to your business. Some of this can be achieved by a process of elimination. If you do not have any medical waste, nuclear waste, or uranium mill tailings then the 1988 Medical Waste Tracking Act, the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, nor the 1978 Uranium Mill-Tailing Radiation Control Act would apply to your workplace. Many other laws do not apply to the majority of businesses in this country. However, many of the USEPA laws do apply or could affect your business. 

Finally, more than 1 5 years after the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, it looks like some waste will soon be stored. In 1998 the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) In New Mexico was issued a license by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to begin receiving nuclear waste. This facility employs tun-... 

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