Nuclear Waste Katie Fonte Kendall Deay Clare Smiga Nicole Loiseau

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Nuclear WasteKatie FonteKendall
DeayClare SmigaNicole Loiseau
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Nuclear Waste

• Types and Storage
• By Katie Fonte

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Nuclear Power General Information

• Nuclear Power comes from the fission of Uranium
  235.
• U 235 is mined in underground mines or open pits.
  These mine tail are a large source of waste.
• At the nuclear power plant, the reaction is
  slowed down by a moderator and controlled by
  control rods.
• The fuel rods can only stay in temporarily, about
  18 months(McCarthy, 2002). Once they are removed
  they are placed in large water tanks about the
  size of a swimming pool to cool.

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Types of Nuclear Waste

• Low-level waste
• Medical waste, uranium mill tailing
• Transuranic waste
• Alpha-particles from military manufacturing.
• High-level waste
• Spent nuclear waste

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Low-Level Waste

• Lab research, industrial activities, medicine
  waste.
• On-site decay half life 65 days
• Disposal to sewage soluble and dispersible
• Incineration scintillation vials
• Shallow land burial solidification of liquid
  waste.

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Transuranic Waste

• Alpha-particles from military manufacturing with
  concentration of plutonium and americium that
  exceed 100nCi g-1 (Eisenbud and Gesell, 1997).
• Geological disposal necessary- lose radioactivity
  very slow and remain hazardous.

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High-level Waste

• Chemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.
  This waste must be stored in a geological
  repository.
• The spent fuel was suppose to be stored only
  temporary at the reactor site and then
  reprocessed. However, because the US no longer
  uses the reprocessing method, there is a serious
  storage problem and this is causing a decline in
  the appeal of nuclear power.

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High-level waste, temporary solutions

• Reracking
• Change the holding rack orientation
• Dry Cask Storage
• Cooled fuel, placed in cast with inert gas
• Rod Consolidation
• Mechanically rearranged

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Dry Cask Storage System
Spent Fuel Pool
U.S. Regulator Commission http//www.nrc.gov/waste
/spent-fuel-storage/pools.html
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High-level waste, permanent solutions

• Deep underground mined cavities, Yucca Mnt.
• Waste disposal in space
• Marine Environment
• Sub-seabed disposal
• Reprocessing
• Spent fuel rods dissolved in chemical solution
  and reusable uranium and plutonium used as fuel

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How nuclear waste became a problem

• Nuclear waste wasnt considered at the beginning
  of Nuclear Power
• Richard W. Cook, deputy general manager of the
  Atomic Energy Council in 1957, stated that
  recovery of uranium and plutonium from used fuel
  rods must be obtained at a low unit cost if
  economic nuclear power is to be achieved the
  cost of processing must be considered early in
  the conceptual design of the reactor. (Bartlett
  and Steel, 1984).

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RADIATION
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How is Nuclear Waste Radioactive?

• Alpha particles (Helium nucleus)
• Beta particles (electron)
• Gamma rays (photon- EM radiation)
• Half-Life

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• Internal vs. External Radiation
• Acute vs. Chronic
• Acute Chernobyl, Hiroshima/Nagasaki
• Chronic occupational, residential

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How is Radiation Measured?

• Dose
• Rem (roentgen equivalent in man )
• 25 rems detectable changes in blood
• Above 100 rems the first signs of radiation
  sickness
• 300 rems or more
• Half of all people exposed to 450 rems die
• mSv (millisievert) about 100 x-rays

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What are the Biological Effects of Radiation?

• Ionization of Atoms
• Somatic vs. Genetic Damage
• Sensitivity
• Effect
• Cell is undamaged
• Cell damage is repaired, functions normally
• Cell damage is repaired, functions abnormally
• Cell dies

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Effects of Cell Damage

• Loss of brain cells
• Damage to fetus
• Sterility
• Cancer

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Risk Assessment

• Chernobyl and Hiroshima/Nagasaki, Three-Mile
  Island
• Acute vs. Chronic
• Low level radiation from nuclear plants

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What are the Limitations to Risk Assessment?

• Effects are long term and based on acute doses
• Must separate from other carcinogens in cancer
  effects
• Biases
• Chemicals and Radiation

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What are the Risks Associated with Yucca Mountain?

• Transport and Burial
• Leakage into surrounding soil and water
• EPA states that the contained waste should be
  sound for at least 10,000 years

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Nuclear Waste Management

• Kendall Deay

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History of Nuclear Waste Management
-Problem Producing lots of nuclear waste
but no long term storage. -mid-1950s- Natl
Academy of Science recommends storing nuclear
waste in salt rock deposits. -1975- President
Ford discourages reprocessing of spent nuclear
fuel. -1978 President Carter forms Interagency
Review Corp. -Away-From-Reactor
Facilities -focus shifts from salt rock storage
to other forms of mined geological repositories
for disposal of spent nuclear fuel.
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Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982
-based on principle that - the generation
benefiting from the nuclear material is
responsible for safely disposing of the nuclear
waste -federal government is responsible for
disposal and management -Established the Nuclear
Waste Fund -cost of disposal paid for by the
generators of the waste -civilian generated
waste paid for by fees on nuclear power plants.
-NWPA involves three U.S. agencies DOE,
NRC, and EPA.
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Department of Energy
-NWPA established the Office of Civilian
Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) within the
DOE. -OCRWM responsible for coming up with a
national program for permanent disposal of high
level waste and spent nuclear fuel. -DOE
responsible for -finding the potential sites
for disposal. -construction, operation, and
closing of the repository -obtaining the waste
from reactor sites, interim storage and
transport to disposal site.
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Environmental Protection Agency
-responsible for -coming up with official
radiation protection standards that the NRC
should consider when licensing nuclear waste
repositories. -Energy Policy Act of
1992 -administrator of EPA has authority to make
policy having to do with public health and
safety standards in order to protect the public
from radioactive materials stored or disposed
of in repositories.
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National Regulatory Commission
-regulates and licenses the receipt and
possession of spent nuclear fuel and high level
waste. -if President approves DOEs
recommendations -NRC uses EPA standards to
evaluate the DOE recommendations. -if NRC
approves the site they issue a license
authorizing repository construction.
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Nuclear Waste Policy Amendment Act of 1987
-Congress redirected the focus of the DOE and
OCRWMs site review to only Yucca Mountain,
Nevada. -established the Nuclear Waste Technical
Review Board -increased local government
participation -allowed to oversee
repository -required the DOE to provide
financial assistance to affected
parties. -all nuclear waste must be certified by
the NRC for transport.
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Nuclear Waste Disposal Act of 2001
-Introduced in the House -Calls for redirecting
the Nuclear Waste Fund established by NWPA of
1982. -Problems with using Yucca Mountain as a
repository -costs too much money -hazardous to
public health and safety -geological and
hydrological conditions arent suitable -risk in
shipping is too great -Instead we should focus on
finding new technology to neutralize radioactive
waste.
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Nuclear Waste Management Today
-Currently all spent nuclear waste is stored in
interim storage facilities located on
site. -Yucca Mountain has not yet been named as
a repository -If approved -Environmental Impact
Statement -outline the effects on
environment -allows for public participation
and input
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Nuclear Waste and the Yucca Mountain Project

• Experts agree the best place to dispose nuclear
  waste is deep underground.
• The project involves an extensive scientific
  study of the mountains geology, hydrology,
  biology, and climate.
• If approved Yucca Mountain will be the nations
  first geological repository for radioactive waste
  disposal.
• Design goals
• Protect health and safety of both workers and
  public
• Minimize amount of radioactive material that may
  eventually meet the environment.
• Maintain costs at an acceptable level.

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YUCCA MOUNTAIN

• Located in Nye County, Nevada about 100mi NW of
  Las Vegas
• A 1,200 ft high, flat-topped volcanic ridge
  extending 6 mi. from north to south.
• Comprised of rock made from compacted volcanic
  ash formed approximately 13 million years ago.
• Has a desert climate and receives about 6-7
  inches of precipitation per year.

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THE DISPOSAL SYSTEM

• The goal for the potential repository is to
  isolate the waste from the environment in the
  following ways
• Position waste above water table where relative
  dryness of rocks would minimize exposure to
  groundwater
• Contain the waste in thick, corrosion-resistant
  packages
• Bury the waste deep-approximately 1,000 ft below
  the land surface preventing most kinds of
  accidental contact w/ the waste from natural
  causes

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THE FACILITY

• Under current DOE plans, the underground
  repository would consist of about 100 miles of
  tunnels.
• The main tunnel would allow for moving workers,
  equipment, and waste packages.
• Ventilation tunnels would supply air to the
  workers.

• The emplacement tunnels would accommodate the
  waste packages.
• The facility could hold up to 70,000 metric tons
  of waste

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Conceptual Design of a Waste Package
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Issues and Concerns

• Many believe Yucca Mountain has certain
  characteristics that pose a concern for
  long-term isolation of highly radioactive waste.
• Located in active seismic (earthquake) region
• Evidence of hydrothermal activity
• Water flow
• Identification of calcite crystals
• Question of whether site can remain stable for
  10,000 yrs
• Cost -18.7 billion to construct operate
• Transportation

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TRANSPORTATION

• Nuclear waste will be transported from 35 states
  by truck and rail.
• Transportation routes have been identified in 43
  states.
• Radioactive waste is shipped in casks that
  function as barriers against the release of
  radiation during transport.

• Driver training
• Tracking waste shipments

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Thanks, Any Questions?