ABSTRACT
The technical community is in general agreement that the technology exists to safely dispose of nuclear wastes. The preferred method has always been deep geologic disposal, but other methods have also been studied such as deep-sea burial and placing the wastes in outer space. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant facility is intended to eventually provide for deep geologic disposal of transuranic wastes. The isolation mechanisms of geologic waste disposal systems consist in delaying the ingress of groundwater, slowing the dissolution of radionuclides, and others by surface water. The High-Level Waste (HLW) generated at West Valley, New York, resulted from the operation of the world's first commercial fuel reprocessing plant for 7 years by the original owner, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. The source of radioactivity in the HLW was fission products from the spent fuel from 10 nuclear reactors, which was reprocessed during 27 separate campaigns from 1966 to 1972.
