Locating a permanent repository for nuclear waste is “not a crisis,” and the government should be deliberate about community engagement throughout the process, a couple former Department of Energy nuclear leaders said during a discussion last week.
Still, the federal government needs to get serious about developing a strategy for the more than 80,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel stranded at reactor sites around the country, the two said Friday during a panel discussion featuring former DOE assistant secretaries for nuclear energy (NE). The ex-DOEers spoke in a webinar hosted by the American Nuclear Society.
With spent fuel from the nation’s fleet of power plants safely stored on onsite pads, “[w]e can work with it right where it is for a significant period of time while we decide what we’re going to do,” William Magwood, DOE’s nuclear energy chief from 1996 to 2005, said.
But the lack of urgency isn’t all good news, said Pete Miller, who was in charge of the government’s nuclear energy office from 2009 to 2010. “We don’t do anything, because it’s not a crisis,” he said.
As for what exactly the government can do to move the process forward, the emphasis in Friday’s discussion was on community engagement — specifically, consent-based siting of a permanent repository.
“Until we have a consent process to take to work with communities around the country to find a location, we’re not going to make any progress,” Magwood said.
John Kotek, who was assistant secretary at NE from 2015 to 2017, suggested that a future assistant secretary for nuclear energy could focus on restarting the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, or some new, independent organization dedicated to community engagement.
Dennis Miotia was DOE’s acting secretary for nuclear energy at deadline Friday for RadWaste Monitor. The Biden administration had yet to nominate a full time nuclear-energy chief at deadline.
A permanent repository should be in focus for the incoming nuclear energy boss, Miller said. “It’s important for every [NE head] to keep his or her shoulder to the plow and not just let it flounder around, so we never get to the seriousness it requires,” he said.
