Rail Transportation Casks 1 Testing of Transportation Casks

Rail Transportation Casks 1

Testing of Transportation Casks · To be certified, transportation casks must demonstrate that they must remain airtight following – A 30 -foot drop onto an unyielding surface – A 40 -inch drop onto a 6 -inch diameter steel rod – Exposure to a 1000 ºC fire for 30 minutes – Immersion in 3 feet of water · Additional, more severe, testing has been done – Crash of a flatbed truck loaded with a cask into a 700 -ton concrete wall at 80 mph – Broadside crash of a 120 -ton locomotive traveling at 80 mph – Crash of a locomotive at 100 mph (U. K. ) – Drop onto hard soil (similar to concrete) from a height of 2, 000 feet – Fire and explosion involving fuel tanks (Germany) 2

Fire and Explosion Testing 3

Repository Design Concept 4

Yucca Mountain Surface Facility Portals South Portal North Portal 5

Surface (Preclosure) Facility Design · Surface facility design provides maximum flexibility in the development of a simple, clean, safe, primarily canisterbased repository – Based on the use of modular waste handling facilities and processes – expansion as needed – Incorporates commercial waste handling experience – Can receive by truck and standard rail – Can handle multiple forms of wastes – Can accommodate multiple sizes of transportation, aging and disposal (TAD) canisters w TAD canisters containing the spent fuel are loaded into the transportation casks w TAD canisters would require less handling than individual spent nuclear fuel assemblies at the repository 6

Aboveground Preclosure Facilities 7

Preparing Waste for Emplacement · Cask enters the facility, impact limiters and lid are removed, and the cask is raised upright by crane · Cask loaded onto a cask transfer trolley and moved to the shielded transfer cell · Another crane lifts the TAD canister out and raises it into a shielded bell · Shielded bell moves to the canister to another transfer cell · Canister is lowered by crane into the waste package – Waste package is what the canister is stored in when emplaced in the mountain · Waste package is transferred to the Transport and Emplacement Vehicle (TEV) 8

Transfer of Canister to Waste Package casktransfer. wmv 9

Transfer of the Waste Package to the TEV WPtransferto. TEV. wmv 10

Emplacement Operations · TEV moves waste package from the surface facility into the mountain – Emplacement tunnel is selected beforehand to limit the total decay heat generated in the tunnel – Tunnel decay heat loading is tracked continuously · TEV deposits the waste package once it has arrived at its final destination · TEV returns to the surface 11

Emplacement Operations 12

Safety of Preclosure Operations · Preclosure operations include all preparation and emplacement activities – Expected to last 50 years (until all tunnels are filled) · Safety features – Robust construction (3 to 4 -foot thick reinforced concrete walls) can withstand the most severe postulated earthquake – Filtered ventilation system to prevent release to environment in the event of an accident – Automatic fire suppression system – Remote operations to limit need for human action – Extensive shielding provided when human involvement is anticipated · Safety analyses show that potential public and worker radiation exposure from preclosure operations is well below NRC safety limits 13

Postclosure · Postclosure begins when the repository has been fully loaded and sealed for long-term storage · Storage is in 42 -miles of 18 -foot diameter tunnels · Parallel tunnels located 250 feet apart · Tunnels are 1, 000 feet below the surface and 1, 000 feet above the water table · Natural and manmade features ensure safety and environmental protection during storage 14

Underground Storage of Waste 15

Natural and Manmade Safety Features 16

Total System Performance Assessment · TSPA is a computer tool that analyzes performance of the repository following closure · Includes computer models for all phenomena that could lead to a release of radionuclides – Based on accepted chemical and physical principles – Benchmarked against data collected during site assessment · TSPA is used to evaluate repository performance over hundreds of thousands of years · Because the period of interest is so long, extremely rare events must be analyzed – Severe earthquakes, volcanic activity, meteor strikes, etc. · TSPA results show human exposures or ground water contamination at least a factor of 10 smaller than safety standards 17

Concept for a Warning Monument and Information Center 18

Status and Future of the Project · License application for the Yucca Mountain repository submitted to the NRC on June 2 nd · NRC has 3 years to complete their evaluation and decide whether to issue a construction permit · Government funding levels will be an important factor in determining when the repository opens – Most optimistic estimate is 2017 for receipt of first waste · Politics will play a key role 19

Politics of the Yucca Mountain Project · NIMBY – Not in my backyard – States with stored nuclear waste want it disposed of – Nevada objects to being the nuclear “dump” – Some have concerns over waste transport · People are reluctant to believe the government regardless of the scientific support · Politicians tend to play on these emotions – Nowhere is this more evident than in Nevada – A “battleground” state 20

Cartoons Illustrating Political and Legal Obstacles 21

Cartoons Illustrating Safety Concerns Cartoonists play on emotions • No need to be scientifically accurate • Probably very effective with the average person 22

Where do the candidates stand? · Obama expressed his opinion in a letter to Senators Reid and Boxer – Nuclear power remains an important source of energy – Objected to Congress abandoning scientific consideration of alternatives and selecting Yucca Mountain – Indicated that Yucca Mountain is not a good choice w Nevadans oppose Yucca Mountain w Won’t be operated for at least 10 more years w Uncertain safety of transport and long-term storage – Time to abandon Yucca Mountain and pursue alternatives w Selection based on sound science and respect for state’s sovereignty 23

Where do the candidates stand? · Mc. Cain’s opinion has been expressed in interviews over the years – Nuclear power is an important source of energy for our future and more reactors are needed – Supports Yucca Mountain as the best alternative for long-term storage – Yucca Mountain should be built if it meets all Federal requirements for protecting human health and the environment – Not a problem of technology but political will 24

Questions? 25