ABSTRACT
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has the lead role in managing the nation's high-level nuclear wastes. This chapter presents an overview of the DOE management program with particular emphasis upon the socioeconomic management component. It examines the socioeconomic effects arising from the siting, construction, and operation of nuclear waste repositories. The chapter discusses the overall management structure of DOE and general considerations in repository siting. It explores the management structure and the goals, scope, and components of the socioeconomic management program. The Department of Energy established the National Waste Terminal Storage Program to insure that nuclear waste management problems will not be deferred to future generations. DOE has developed several principles to guide the repository siting process. The first repository for disposal of high-level nuclear waste is scheduled to be in operation around the year 2000.
