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Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

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* Development <strong>of</strong> conventionally mined deep geologic repositories for disposal <strong>of</strong><br />

spent fuel from nuclear power reactors and/or radioactive fuel reprocessing<br />

wastes.(a)<br />

* Balanced development <strong>of</strong> several alternative disposal methods.<br />

* No waste disposal action.<br />

iv<br />

Prior to announcing his national waste management program, the President received<br />

recommendations on the program from an Interagency Review Group whose report was issued in<br />

April 1979. In their report, the Interagency Review Group analyzed a number <strong>of</strong> possible<br />

strategies for the program <strong>of</strong> high-level waste disposal. These strategies differed with<br />

regard to the number <strong>of</strong> diverse sites that should be examined in a geologic disposal program<br />

prior to construction <strong>of</strong> a facility and in one case discussed the implementation <strong>of</strong> tech-<br />

nologies other than mined geologic repositories.<br />

This EIS has not specifically examined the strategies reviewed by the Interagency<br />

Review Group but the essential differences between them are covered in the comparison <strong>of</strong> the<br />

first two program alternatives considered here. These alternatives have been examined for<br />

a number <strong>of</strong> different scenarios <strong>of</strong> future nuclear power use and for a range <strong>of</strong> times for<br />

operation <strong>of</strong> facilities, including those considered by the Interagency Review Group.<br />

A draft <strong>of</strong> this environmental impact statement--"<strong>Management</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Commercially</strong> <strong>Generated</strong><br />

<strong>Radioactive</strong> <strong>Waste</strong>"--was issued for review and comment as DOE/EIS-0046D on April 20, 1979.<br />

Copies were sent to Federal agencies with responsibilities associated with radioactive waste<br />

disposal, to governors <strong>of</strong> all states, and to public interest groups known to have an inter-<br />

est in waste management. Comments were received from the following Federal agencies:<br />

Department <strong>of</strong> Commerce<br />

Department <strong>of</strong> Health, Education and Welfare<br />

Department <strong>of</strong> the Interior<br />

Environmental Protection Agency<br />

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission<br />

Nuclear Regulatory Commission<br />

and from agencies or <strong>of</strong>ficials from 17 states.<br />

A total <strong>of</strong> 219 written communications, incorporating about 2000 comments, were received<br />

and considered in preparation <strong>of</strong> this final Statement.<br />

An impartial Hearing Board, composed <strong>of</strong> specialists in several fields, was appointed<br />

to conduct a series <strong>of</strong> public hearings on the draft Statement. The board members had not<br />

been DOE personnel nor previously involved with the DOE waste management program and were<br />

employed specifically to conduct the hearings and evaluate the public concerns. Hearings<br />

were held in Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; and San<br />

(a) The Statement does not formally consider radioactive wastes related to defense<br />

programs; however, in a generic sense, systems that can safely dispose <strong>of</strong> commercial<br />

radioactive wastes are expected to safely dispose <strong>of</strong> defense wastes.

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