Legislative Challenges to Transporting Spent Nuclear Fuel

As we previously reported, DOE does not have clear legislative authority  for either consolidated interim storage or for permanent disposal at a site  other than Yucca Mountain and, as such, there is no facility to which DOE  can transport commercial spent nuclear fuel. Without clear authority, DOE  cannot make the transportation decisions necessary regarding  commercial spent nuclear fuel. NRC’s guidelines on spent nuclear fuel dry  storage limit spent nuclear fuel temperature to 752 degrees Fahrenheit  (400 degrees Celsius). Societal Challenges to Transporting Spent Nuclear Fuel

As we found in October 2014, public acceptance is key to any aspect of a  spent nuclear fuel management and disposition program, including  transportation. Specifically, unless and until there is a broad  understanding of the issues associated with management of spent  nuclear fuel, specific stakeholders and the general public may be unlikely  to support any spent nuclear fuel program. In particular, a program that  has not yet been developed or for which a site has not been identified  may have challenges in obtaining public acceptance. Moreover, we reported in April 2011 and October 2014 that any spent  nuclear fuel management program is going to take decades to develop  and to implement and that maintaining public acceptance over that length  of time will face significant challenges. Of particular concern is having to transport spent  In October 2014, we reported that according to experts and stakeholders,  social media has been used effectively to provide information to the public  through coordinated outreach efforts by organizations with an interest in  spent nuclear fuel policy. Some of these organizations oppose DOE’s  strategy and the information they distribute reflects their agendas. In  contrast, we reported that DOE had no coordinated outreach strategy,  including social media. We  recommended that DOE develop and implement a coordinate outreach  strategy for providing information to specific stakeholders and the general  public on federal activities related to managing spent nuclear fuel—which  would include transportation planning. DOE generally agreed with our  recommendation.
Why GAO Did This Study

Spent nuclear fuel—the used fuel removed from commercial nuclear power reactors—is an extremely harmful substance if not managed properly. The nation's inventory of spent nuclear fuel has grown to about 72,000 metric tons currently stored at 75 sites in 33 states, primarily where it was generated.
Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, DOE was to investigate Yucca Mountain, a site about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel. DOE terminated its work at Yucca Mountain in 2010 and now plans to transport the spent nuclear fuel to interim storage sites beginning in 2021 and 2024, then to a permanent disposal site by 2048. Transportation of spent nuclear fuel is a major element of any policy adopted to manage and dispose of spent nuclear fuel.
This testimony discusses three key challenges related to transporting spent nuclear fuel: legislative, technical, and societal. It is based on reports GAO issued from November 2009 to October 2014.

What GAO Found

Based on its prior work, GAO found three key challenges related to the transportation of spent nuclear fuel: legislative, technical, and societal.
Societal challenges . As GAO reported in October 2014, public acceptance is key for any aspect of a spent nuclear fuel management and disposition program—including transporting it—and maintaining that acceptance over the decades needed to implement a spent fuel management program is challenging. In that regard, GAO reported that in order for stakeholders and the general public to support any spent nuclear fuel program—particularly one for which a site has not been identified—there must be a broad understanding of the issues associated with management of spent nuclear fuel. Also, GAO found that some organizations that oppose DOE have effectively used social media to promote their agendas to the public, but that DOE had no coordinated outreach strategy, including social media. GAO recommended that DOE develop and implement a coordinated outreach strategy for providing information to the public on their spent nuclear fuel program. DOE generally agreed with GAO's recommendation.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making no new recommendations.