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Case 1:98-cv-00154-JFM
Conclusion

Concluding observations
Based on the viability assessment, DOE believes that Yucca Mountain
,

remains a promising site for a geologic repository and that work should proceed to support a decision in 2001 on whether to recommend the site to the President for development as a repository. . Over 16 years, exten-

sive research has validated many of the expectations of the scientists who first suggested that remote, desert regions of the Southwest are
Engineered barrier~ can be designed to contain waste for thousands of years, and the natural barriers can delay and dilute any radioactive material that nilgrates from the waste packages. Current models indicate that the possib1e radiation ' exposure
well-suited for a geologic repository.

to future populations living nearby could be comparable to present-day exposure levels from natural background radiation. Design alternatives that may improve performance and reduce remaining uncertainties are
now being evaluated.

The performance of a geologic repository over such long time periodslonger than recorded human history~annot be pI'Qven beyond all doubt. Forecasts about future geologic and climatic cond~tions and engineering

estimates of how long the waste packages will reP1ain intact carinot be directly validated. The mathematical models us~d in the performance assessment are subject to uncertainties that can be ;reduced but never
completely eliminated.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission s general standard for meeting geoand objectives is reasonable assuruncertainties remain today, DOE believes that I anee. While considerable

, logic repository regulatory criteria

I reasonable assurance should be achievable in the licensing process after
the planned work is completed. The DOE believe~,
therefore, that ongo- -

ing work at Yucca Mountain should proceed as planned.

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Endnotes

Endnotes
The numbers at the end of each reference are
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Manage-

8 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Public Law 97- 425. 222165. '
9 10 CFR (Code of Federal Rogulations) 60.

ment accession numbers. See the inside front
cover of this document for whom to contact

regal'ding more information.
1 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act . 1997. Public Law 104- 206. 238115.
2 For a dcscl'iption and discussion of radioac10

Energy: Disposal of High-Level Radioactive
Waste in Geologic Repositories. 239474.

Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987. Public Law 100- 203. 223717.
60 . :f~nergy: Disposal of High. Level Radioactive Wastes in Geologic Repositories.
239474.

tive waste and its management, see The
League of Women Voters 1993. Waste Primer: AHandbook for Citizens.

11 10 CFR

The Nuclear,

New

York: League of Women Voters Education
Jt'

und. 21OG97.

12 Energy

Policy Act of 1992. Public Law 102486. 233191.

:1 U. K

District Court, Utah 1995. Joint Motion
13 National

. for Entry

October 17, 1995. Civil Case No. 91- 0054-S. ' "~L (Legal Pleadings). U. S. District Court for the District of Idaho. 240346.
~ U.s. Department of Energy 1997.

of Consent Order Based on Settlement. Agl"eement and Consent Order in the Case of Public Service (',0. o f Colorado v. Batt,

Technical Research Council 1995. WashBases for Yucca Mountain Standards. ington , D. : National Academy Press.
104723.

14

Interagency Review Group on Nuclear Waste
Management 1979.

Report to the President by

Linking Legacies: Connecting the Cold War Nuclear Production Processes to Their Environmental DOE/EM- 0319, liP. 34- 38. Consequences. Washington , D. : DOE. 241255.

the Interagency Review Group on Nuclear TID- 29442 , p. 37. WashWaste Management. ington; D. : DOE. MOL. 19980625. 0169.
lti Letter from Dr. Vincent McKelvey to Richard

Ii National Academy of Sciences/National The Disposal of Uesearch Council 1957.
Radioactive Waste on Land.

Publication 519,

Assistant Administrator for Nuclear Energy, U. S. Energ); Research and Development Administration , Washington C. July 9, 1976. 238792.
16 Winograd , I.J. 1981. "Radioactive Waste

W. Roberts ,

p. 4. Wal'hington , D.
, Press. 241256.

: National Academy

G U. S.

Department of Energy 1980.

Final

E,wironmentallrnpact Stateme,~t, Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive
Waste.

Disposal in Thick Unsaturated Zones. 212, pp. 1457- 1464. Washington Science, : American Association for the Advancement of Science. 217258.
17
National Research Council 1990.

J)OE/"~IS- O046F. Washington, D.

DOE. 205022.
. National Research Council 1990.

Rethinking

Rethinking

High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal , A
Position Statemelit of the Board on Radioac-

High- Level Radioactive Disposal, A Position Statement of the Board on Radioactive Waste Management pp. 5-6. Washington, D. National Academy Press. 241260.
16
DOE 1992.

tive Waste Management p. vii. Washington : National Academy Press. 241259.

Science, Society, and America~

Nuclear Waste, Unit

1. TeaclwrGuide. DOEI RW- 0361 TG. Washington . D. : DOE.

214909.

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Endnotes
_..m ....

19 League

of Women Voters

1993.

The Nuclear
p. 12.

Waste Primer: A Handbook for Citizens,

New York: League of Women Voters Education J.'und. 210697.
20 National

Techrtical Research Council 1995. Bases for Yucca Mour~tain Standards 12.
Washington, D.

: National Academy Press.

104273.

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Glossary

Glossary
Adsorb
To transfer dissolved materials, including radionuclides , in groundwater to the

solid geologic surfaces with which they come in contact.
Background radiation
Radiation arising from natural radioactive material always present in the

environment, including solar and cosmic radiation, and radiation from radon gas , soil and rocks , and the human body.

Cladding

The metallic outer sheath of a nuclear reactor fuel element, (:enerally made of a
zirconium alloy. It is intended to isolate the fuel element from the external

environment.
Colloid

Small particles in the size range of 10-9 to 10" meters that ar(! suspended in a
solvent. Naturally occurting colloids in groundwater arise from clay minerals.

Defense in

depth
Design margin

A strategy based on a system of multiple , in$1ependent, and redundant barriers, designed to ensure that failure in anyone barrier does not result in failure of the entire system.
Margin of safety in specifications for engineered components to account for uncertainty in the conditions to which the componenLq will be subjected and for variability in the properties of component materials.

Dose

A quantity of radiation or energy absorbed by any material; measured in rads. Equivalent dose measures the amount of damage to human tissues from a radiation dose; equivalent dose is measured in rems.
From mining terminology, a horizontal underground passage.
A movable crane carried on a four. legged portal frame that runs along rails.

Drift

Gantry
High-level radioactive waste

Highly radioactive material resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Originally produced in liquid form, high- level radioactive waste must be solidified before disposal.
(1) The low point of something such as a tunnel , drift , or drainage channel. (2) An engineered structure or material placed on excavated drift floors (the low points) to serve as structural support for drift transportation or emplacement

Invert

systems.
of uranium.

Isotope

One of two or more atomic nuclei with the same number of protons (i. e., the

same atomic number) but with a different number of neutrons (Le. , a different atomic weight). For example. uranium- 235 and uranium- 238 are both isotopes
A metric ton is metric ton of heavy metal. In this document, metric ton means a a upit of mass equal to 1, 000 kg (about 2 205 lb). HeaVy metals are those with atomic masses greater than 230. Examples include thorium , uranium , plutonium . and neptunium.

Metric ton

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Gfoss8IY

Millirem

A millirem is one one- thousandth of a rem, which is the unit of equivalent dose. Equivalent dose is a measure of the effect that radiation has on humans. The equivalent dose takes into account the type of radiation and the absorbed dose. Rem is an initialism for Roentgen equivalent man.
systems that paraUel situations that can develop'in man-made systems. An example of a natural analog is the natural nuclear reactor at the
Natural geologic

Natural analog

Oklo uranium deposit in Gabon , Africa, which can be used as a source of analog data for conceptual models of nuclear criticality.
Non.welded
, tuff
See

Tuff.

Percolate

Referring to the movement of water downward through soil and rock.

Performance assessment

An analysis that predicts the behavior of a system or system component under a given set of constant and/or transient conditions. Repository performance assessments will include estimates of the effects of uncertainties in both data

and modeling.
A radioactive isotope.
saturated with groundwater.

Radioactive waste
Radionuclide
Saturated zone

For the purpose of this document, spent nuclear fuel or high- level radioactive waste.

The region below the water table where rock pores and fractures are completely
Fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor following irradiation , the
constituent elements of which have not been separated by reprocessing.

Spent nuclear

fuel

Transurani(: waste
Tuff

Waste contaminated with uranium- 233 or with radionuclides having atomic
numbers greater than that of uranium.
Rock derived from volcanic ash. Welded tuff

results when the volcanic ash is hot
in the air suffi-

enough to melt together and is further compressed by the weight of overlying
materials. Non-welded tuff

results when volcanic ash cools

ciently that it doesn t melt together , yet later becomes rock through compression.

Unsaturated
zone
Water t8.ble

The zone of soil and rock between the land surface and the water table.

The upper limit. of the portion of the ground wholly saturated with water.
See

Welded tuff

Tuff.

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Acronyms

Acronyms
DOE
EPA
D(' pal'tment

of Energy

1':lIvil'onmental Protection Agency

NAS
NHC

National Academy of Sciences

Nuclear Hegulalory Commission

NWPA Nudeal' Wa$le Policy Ad of 1982

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The following number is for Office of-Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Records Management purposes onty and should not be used when ordering this publication. Accession No. MOL.l9981007.0027

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Viability Assessment of a Repository at Yucca Mountain

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