Clean Nuclear Energy And its future in The U.S. PRESENTED BY: KAYLA ROONEY, MIKE MORRISON, & SHAUN PIERRE

Why do we need a repository? Spent nuclear fuel and waste are hazardous ◦Remain toxic for thousands of years ◦Environmental damage ◦Cause cancer ◦Other harmful effects/threats

How much is there? 75,000 metric tons Produced from 80 sites throughout 35 states Expected to be doubled by 2055

Where is it now? Interim ◦Temporary designated areas On-site storage ◦Plants have storage areas

On-Site Storage Problems Plants generally commissioned for 40 years ◦Some recommission for 20 Storage areas reaching capacity ◦Reracking/organization 60 years to safely decommission a plant Storage considered safe for another 60 years after that

Permanent Repository Options Space ◦High costs ◦Risks associated with launch failure Transmutation to harmless materials ◦High costs ◦Not necessarily 100% effective Geological

Geological Repositories Nuclear Waste Policy Act, 1982 Yucca Mountain, 1987 Funding shut down in 2010 ◦Political reasons ◦Locals unsatisfied

Nuclear power does not have a future without a central waste repository. VIEWPOINT #1

Currently? Nuclear waste generated in the U.S. is stored at or near one of the 121 facilities across the country where it is generated

On Site Storage? In the short term, irradiated reactor fuel should be stored as safely as possible on site or as close to the point of generation as possible for an interim period.

On-site storage is not a sound strategy for the long term ◦Possibility of reprocessing ◦Leaks and accidents ◦Requires constant monitoring ◦Destruction of waste storage containers by natural disasters or terrorism Reprocessing removes any leftover uranium and the plutonium that has been formed The U.S. shut down its reprocessing plant during the 1970s and hasn't replaced it The Carter Administration decided not to reprocess nominally on the grounds that if other countries could be persuaded not to reprocess, the likelihood of nuclear proliferation would be reduced

On-site storage is not a sound strategy for the long term The temporary casks are only licensed to hold radioactive waste for 20 years. More than 800 filled casks await a final destination, holding 14,000 metric tons of waste. Another 49,000 metric tons is being held in spent-fuel pools, waiting to be placed in vessels. A further 2,000 metric tons of nuclear reactor waste is created every year.

Maine Yankee Facility Nuclear power plant built in Wiscasset, Maine Operated from Decommissioned and dismantled between Left behind: 64 steel and concrete casks that hold 542 metric tons of radioactive waste Protected by barbed wire, cameras, and a security force

Federal Government’s Obligation to Remove and Dispose of Nuclear Waste More than 10 years behind schedule Has paid nuclear utilities $565 million in compensation for costs incurred because of its failure to meet that schedule. DOE currently estimates that liabilities to electric utilities for such damages will total more than $12 billion if the department begins to accept nuclear waste by Kim Cawley, chief of the Natural and Physical Resources Cost Estimates Unit

Viewpoint 2: Is there a future? Yes. Nuclear Energy is a modern energy Still Being debated to use or not ◦Is it safe ◦Is it manageable ◦Will it sustain our growing energy needs

The Building of New Nuclear In 2005, 30 nations declare first nuclear installs plus 65 claim interests plus 30 already running 14% Global Electricity (2012) 20 apps have been filed with Nuclear Regulatory Commission,18 Col Apps ◦28 Reactors/ 18 sites in US

Slow But Sure Progress Bureaucratic Approval/ Re-approvals Focus on Form and Function Safety measurements built-in Cooperation between Govt., Privet, and Safety This assures the best plants possible Prepared for all possible scenarios

Remy Carle(SES) French Electrics Nuclear Power (presses Universitaires de France 1994) Accident prevention, from the initial design stage, through careful sizing of all installations, the taking into account of possible equipment failures and human error, the taking into account of external hazards, the implementation of safety systems, and the quality control of the design and execution of equipment and work Continuous monitoring during operation, according to procedures monitored by national authorities Implementation of safety systems to maintain the cooling of nuclear fuel and prevent the release of radioactive products in the event of abnormal operation Definition of emergency planning and procedures to deal with the highly improbably event of a serious accident

Looking Ahead: Fast Reactors Gen IV, much more efficient Large cut in waste volume To this date: Safer than current Reactors Universal Push ( US, Japan, France)

Aggressive Govt. Support Govt. loans Incentives for early investors Adding a CO2 tax on coal and Natural Gas ◦Ensures competitive cost to Nuclear ◦Pushes Privet investors towards Nuclear

Gallup Polls show support rising

Our consensus A central repository is necessary for nuclear power’s future

Work-sited Ahearne, John F, Albert V. Carr, JR. Harold A Felveson, Daniel Ingersoll, Andrew C Klein, Stephen Maloney, Ivan Oelrich, Sharon Swuassoni, and Richard Wolfson. "The Future Of Nuclear Power In The United States." Ed. Charles C Ferguson and Frank A Settle. Federation Of American Scientists/ Wahsington and Lee University, 1 Jan Web. Nov "Fast Neutron Reactors." World Nuclear Association. World Nuclear Association, 1 Jan Web. Nov with-nuclear-waste/?tag=content%3Bcol1http:// with-nuclear-waste/?tag=content%3Bcol1 effective-and-flexible/ effective-and-flexible/