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

7.6 SYSTEM COSTS
7.46
Costs for the entire waste management system are presented in this section. The costs
include all predisposal and disposal costs from reactor discharge of the spent fuel to final
isolation of the waste in a disposal repository. The wastes include spent fuel in the once-
through cycle and high-level and TRU wastes in the reprocessing cycle. The costs include
the estimated expenditures by the Federal Government for research and development and repos-
itory multiple-site qualification.(a) It is assumed that these R&D costs will be recov-
ered in accordance with the President's February 12, 1980 statement, "through fees paid by
the utilities" for storage at government-owned storage facilities and for disposal at the
final disposal repositories. Costs are presented here both in terms of total dollars and
in terms of mills/kWh, so that the impact of this waste management on nuclear power costs
can be put into perspective.
One of the most important cost components of the waste management systems is the Dep-
artment of Energy's research and development and site qualification cost. The estimated
annual R&D expenditures through 1995 for predisposal management of commercial wastes are
tabulated in Appendix Table A.9.5. The estimated annual expenditures for disposal R&D and
repository site qualification work are tabulated in Appendix Table A.9.6. Separate schedules
are shown for each repository startup date considered in this analysis. The total
estimated R&D and multiple site qualification costs are summarized in Table 7.6.1. These
costs also include cumulative expenditures through 1980.
TABLE 7.6.1 Total Estimated Research and Development and Multiple
Site Qualification Costs, $ millions
Total
Total Disposal R&D
Date of First Predisposal and Site
Case Repository R&D Verification Total
1 & 2 1990 500 2,400 2,900
2010 800 3,200 4,000
2030 900 8,000 8,900
3, 4 & 5 1990 600 3,000 3,600
2000 800 3,200 4,000
2010 900 3,700 4,600
2020 1,000 6,600 7,600
2030 1,000 8,500 9,500
The R&D and multiple site qualification costs for the year 2000 repository represent
an estimate for DOE's present program plan and are consistent with the program description
and schedule of activities outlined in DOE's Confidence Rulemaking Statement (DOE/NE-0007
(a) "When four or five sites have been evaluated and found potentially suitable, one or
more will be selected for further development as a licensed full-scale repository."
President Carter, Feb. 12, 1980."