ABSTRACT
High-level waste (HLW) includes liquid wastes from the first-cycle solvent extraction of fuel reprocessing and solids into which such liquid wastes have been converted. Also included are concentrated liquid wastes from subsequent extraction cycles. Because of the high radioactivity of such waste, its management has become a matter of great public concern. The government policy regarding the disposal of HLW was stated in 1980 in President W. L. Carter's statement to Congress. For disposal of HLW, the administration adopted an interim planning strategy focused on the use of mined geologic repositories capable of accepting waste from both reprocessed and unreprocessed commercial spent fuel. HLW have been stored in storage tanks in the United States. The federal government has spent well over 15 billion dollars in an attempt to provide for the safe permanent disposal of HLW wastes. Solidified HLW may be stored on site immediately after solidification and placed in storage before transfer to a disposal site.
