ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses almost entirely on the US Department of Energy's programs for the storage and deep geologic disposal of spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors. Other important issues, such as the management of defense high-level radioactive waste and the transportation of spent nuclear fuel, are treated peripherally. Until about 1970, the former Atomic Energy Commission focused on reactor development to the detriment of the radioactive waste management program. Public opinion surveys continue to show that the great majority of Nevadans do not want a high-level radioactive waste "dump" in their state. Since the early 1970s the nation has developed substantial experience in the management of high-level radioactive waste. To a surprising degree, the lessons learned from this experience do not seem to inform the federal program. The commercial nuclear power industry has wanted the federal government to build an interim surface storage facility for spent fuel from nuclear power plants.
