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

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6.76<br />

TABLE 6.1.13. Estimated Energy Consumption<br />

Spent Fuel HLW<br />

Propane m 3 2.4 x 104 1.0 x 10 7<br />

Diesel, m 3 5.0 x 106 1.6 x 106<br />

Electricity, KWh 2.0 x 1010 5.7 x 1010<br />

require an area within the boundaries <strong>of</strong> the port area subseabed support facilities <strong>of</strong> 2320<br />

m 2 (25,000 ft 2 ) (Bechtel 1979a). Other storage and transfer facilities would also be<br />

needed. The total area required for all the required facilities is expected to be over 3600<br />

ha (8500 acres).<br />

Construction <strong>of</strong> the waste disposal ships with double hulls and bottoms, waste handling<br />

equipment for loading, and carefully constructed compartments for holding the wastes duirng<br />

transportaton activities, like construction <strong>of</strong> the port facilities, would lead to the<br />

consumption <strong>of</strong> steel and other basic construction materials. An estimate <strong>of</strong> the material<br />

consumption is provided in Table 6.1.14.<br />

International and Domestic Legal and Institutional Considerations<br />

The subseabed disposal option, like the island and ice sheet options, would require<br />

transporting waste material over the ocean, and the general international implications <strong>of</strong><br />

such transportation are important.<br />

Any implementation <strong>of</strong> subseabed disposal is far enough in the future that many current<br />

legal and political trends could change. However, it is not too early to identify<br />

important problems, so that possible developments could be foreseen and controlled.<br />

The use <strong>of</strong> subseabed disposal would be governed by a complex network <strong>of</strong> legal<br />

jurisdictions and activities on both national and international levels. Domestic use <strong>of</strong><br />

subseabed disposal <strong>of</strong> radioactive waste would require amendment <strong>of</strong> the U.S. Marine<br />

Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act <strong>of</strong> 1972 (The Ocean Dumping Act) which currently<br />

precludes issuance <strong>of</strong> a permit for ocean dumping <strong>of</strong> high-level radioactive waste.<br />

Table 6.1.14. Estimated Material Consumption for Ship and<br />

Facility Construction (in MT)<br />

Spent Fuel HLW<br />

Carbon Steel 877,000 282,000<br />

Stainless Steel 83,500 22,500<br />

Components<br />

Chronium 14,200 4,600<br />

Nickel 7,500 2,000<br />

Tungsten -- --<br />

Copper 1,400 1,900<br />

Lead 12,900 2,900<br />

Zinc 1,200 600<br />

Aluminum 13.000 1.400<br />

The London Convention <strong>of</strong> 1972, a multinational treaty on ocean disposal, addresses the<br />

problem <strong>of</strong> dumping <strong>of</strong> low-level and TRU wastes at sea and bans the sea dumping <strong>of</strong> high-level

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