1 / 75

Nuclear Waste Disposal at Yucca Mountain Nevada

Nuclear Waste Disposal at Yucca Mountain Nevada. Sam Atkinson. E NVIRONMENTAL S CIENCE U NIVERSITY of N ORTH T EXAS. Department of Energy’s proposal to: construct operate monitor close. A geologic repository at Yucca Mountain for the

lynda
Download Presentation

Nuclear Waste Disposal at Yucca Mountain Nevada

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Nuclear Waste Disposal at Yucca Mountain Nevada Sam Atkinson ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITYof NORTH TEXAS

  2. Department of Energy’s proposal to: • construct • operate • monitor • close A geologic repository at Yucca Mountain for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste currently in storage at 72 commercial and 5 DOE sites.

  3. National Academy of Science

  4. Approximately 20% of U.S. electricity is supplied by nuclear power plants, and we have made one or more nuclear weapons. Nuclear wastes have accumulated for more than 50 years at 72 commercial nuclear power plants and 5 U.S. Department of Energy sites in 35 states. 63,000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) spent nuclear fuel and 7,000 MTHM of high-level radioactive waste. 105,000 MTHM by 2046.

  5. 77 sites in 35 states

  6. Sequence of past and possible future decisions.

  7. NEPA, 1969 Environmental Impact Statement required for MASAQHE. NWPA, 1982 - U.S. Government responsible for nuclear waste disposal. NWPA, 1987 - Yucca Mountain only

  8. Yucca Mountain project

  9. Overview

  10. Tunnel boring machine.

  11. Nuclear waste packaging.

  12. Emplacement at repository.

  13. Site schematic.

  14. Waste emplacement drifts

  15. Waste emplacement.

  16. High thermal load scenario 85 MTHM per acre Intermediate thermal load scenario 60 MTHM per acre Low thermal load scenario 25 MTHM per acre

  17. Future actions.

  18. Interstate highway system

  19. Legal-weight tractor trailer truck.

  20. Railroad system

  21. Large rail cask on railcar. Heavy-haul truck.

  22. Potential Nevada highway routes

  23. Potential Nevada rail routes

  24. Potential Nevada heavy haul truck routes

  25. No Action Alternative Yucca Mountain site decommissioning Continued storage at existing sites Scenario 1 long term institutional control Scenario 2 long term no institutional control

  26. Reactors Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Reactor Independent spent fuel storage installation

  27. Spent nuclear fuel storage facility.

  28. High-level radioactive waste storage facility.

  29. Affected Environment

  30. Regional Landuse

  31. Wind Rose 60 meters above ground 10 meters above ground

  32. Physiographic Subdivisions

  33. General Bedrock Geology

  34. Simplified geologic cross-section.

  35. Surface water systems.

  36. Ground water systems

  37. Saturated ground water flow system.

  38. Ash Meadows

  39. Impacts examined: Landuse and ownership, air quality, geology, hydrology,biological resources and soils, cultural resources, socioeconomics, occupational and public health and safety, accidents, noise, aesthetics, utilities-energy-materials, waste management, environmental justice, sabotage, transportation, cumulative effects. Proposed Action, No-Action Alternatives short term (100 years), long term (100 - 10,000 yrs)

  40. A rem (Roentgen Equivalent in Man) is the amount of ionizing radiation required to produce the same biological effect in a person as 1 roentgen of high-penetration X-rays. William Conrad Roentgen 1845-1923

More Related