High‐level radioactive waste management in the USA

Thermal Properties of LiCl-KCl Molten Salt for Nuclear Waste Separation

“…With electricity demand rising and the need for nuclear power increasing, more feasible methods of disposing and reusing the approximately 60,000 metric tons of nuclear waste must be considered [1]. Pyroprocessing, or pyrometallurgical processing, is a high-temperature electrochemical process used at INL to reprocess spent fast reactor fuel [2,3].…”

Risk Policies in the United States: Definition and Characteristics Based on a Scoping Review of the Literature

“…More specifically, the risks involved transportation issues, food issues, energy issues, including nuclear, or cutting‐edge scientific developments such as nanotechnologies . Chemical risks and industrial risks connected with contaminated soil formed a large part of the sample . Apart from technological and industrial risks, the authors were interested in natural risks, sometimes in the “Act of God” category.…”

“…At the federal level, Congress plays a key role in drafting legislation and making budgetary allocations. For example, Congress passed the Atomic Energy Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the Energy Policy Act, the Migratory Bird Act, the Negotiated Rulemaking Act, the Securities Exchange Act, and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act, and “rejected a satellite solar power system that could cost up to $1 trillion.” Three articles describe a decision made by an individual state . States may take one of two opposing directions.…”

“…They may replicate federal legislative efforts, as they have done for the prevention of health risks due to toxic industrial activities, where “[m]any states followed the federal lead and enacted CERCLA‐like laws of their own.” On the other hand, however, they may distance themselves from decisions made in Washington and pass their own legislation. In Nevada, for example, the state legislature passed a bill that “made it illegal to dispose of HLW (High level waste) within the State, a largely symbolic act.”…”

Nuclear Waste Governance

“…-Parallel to this a comparative site selection process was on-going in the United States (seeSolomon 2009Solomon : 1010Fischer 2006). 7 For the reasons seeHocke and Renn (2011: 46-7).…”