International nuclear waste information exchange planned

Wednesday, July 11, 2001 | 11:13 a.m.

Researchers in the United States and around the world have agreed to participate in an information exchange that could one day change the way countries manage high-level nuclear waste.

A U.S. Department of Energy scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has approached Eastern European, Eastern Asian and U.S. experts to examine everything from studying Yucca Mountain to transforming radioactive wastes into something less harmful to storing and managing the wastes.

Every possible solution is on the research table, Cheng-Kong Chou, associate director of energy and environment at Livermore, said Tuesday.

Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan reached a preliminary agreement last week with the national laboratory to exchange information about nuclear waste management, Chou said.

One of the best aspects of Livermore's plan to share information is funding, Chou said, noting that instead of seeking U.S. funds, other nations are willing to share in the costs.

U.S. government scientists are studying the only current solution -- disposal of 77,000 tons of commercial spent fuel and military wastes -- at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Since there has been so much work done studying Yucca Mountain, it is logical to tap into DOE's expertise vested with the scientists working there, Chou said.

However, other nations are looking at various rock formations, very unlike Yucca Mountain's volcanic ash layers, Chou said.

Japan, for example, is studying granite sites. Granite was once considered in the late 1970s and 1980s in the United States, Chou noted, because it is extremely stable. A granite formation under New Hampshire and Maine has been undisturbed for 600 million years.

A central bank of nuclear waste information could be started at the University of California, Chou said, but other universities also could be invited to participate, including UNLV.

"Eventually, if this is going someday, we hope that UNLV will join us in research," Chou said.

Although there has been no formal discussions with university officials, Donald Baepler, founder of UNLV's Harry Reid Environmental Research Center, said he had heard of the project.

"This is very preliminary," Baepler said. "In my experience, these projects take forever and often get talked to death."

But if the international nuclear waste brain trust gels, Baepler said the university would be interested in participating.

The Harry Reid Center has already received $3 million this year for studying advanced technology that would render highly radioactive wastes less dangerous.

The DOE and scientists around the world are participating in the advanced accelerator project.