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

3.1
CHAPTER 3
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM ALTERNATIVES AND BACKGROUND
This section describes the major action proposed by the Department of Energy for which
this environmental impact statement was prepared, namely the selection of a programmatic
strategy emphasizing geologic disposal in a mined repository as the technology for disposal
of high-level radioactive wastes. Two programmatic alternatives to this proposed action
are also described. In addition, this section provides the reader with a description of
the technical and environmental bases for the analyses which follow in succeeding sections.
Since radiation exposure is a central concern in the management and disposal of nuclear
wastes, background information about radiation and the approaches used to assess radio-
logical risk are presented. Finally, "non technical" issues are discussed to inform the
reader about the broad social, political, and institutional concerns which cut across
specific technical concerns about nuclear waste.
3.1 PROPOSED ACTION AND PROGRAM ALTERNATIVES
As part of its responsibility for developing the technology required for managing cer-
tain classes of radioactive wastes, the Department of Energy proposes to take a major agency
action: selecting an appropriate programmatic strategy leading to the disposal of commer-
cial radioactive waste in a fashion that provides reasonable assurance of safe, permanent
isolation of these materials.
This major action involves two specific components at this time. The first is the
selection of geologic disposal in a mined repository as the technology for emphasis in
a research and development program from among the various concepts that have been
proposed. The second decision concerns the nature and extent of the research and
development program to be undertaken, given the designation of geologic disposal as
the technology for emphasis.
In considering alternative methods that might be employed for permanent isolation of
radioactive materials, this EIS identifies and examines nine disposal technologies. These
technologies, fully characterized in Chapters 5 and 6, are:
1) geologic disposal using conventional mining techniques
2) disposal in very deep holes
3) disposal in a mined cavity that results in rock melting
4) disposal in repositories located on an island
5) disposal in sediments beneath the deep ocean in the subseabed
6) disposal in an ice sheet in the Arctic or Antarctic
7) disposal in an injection well
8) disposal by partitioning of reprocessed waste and transmutation of actinides
9) disposal by projection into outer space.