NRC to hear update on transportation studies

Tuesday, June 18, 2002 | 9:51 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today is scheduled to hear an update on "current and future" nuclear waste transportation safety studies, including research by the Sandia National Laboratories.

Nevada officials have made the issue of waste shipping a central point in their broader argument against Yucca Mountain, a federal proposal to haul the nation's high-level nuclear waste to the Nevada site for permanent burial. They have called for more studies of waste shipping routes -- before Congress finalizes approval of Yucca Mountain. The Senate is likely to vote within days.

They also want full-scale testing of the lead-lined steel containers used to transport waste. The NRC is considering whether to conduct full-scale tests.

Nuclear industry officials say waste can be transported safely, and accuse Nevada officials of "fear-mongering." Officials with the NRC, and the Energy Department, which manages the Yucca project, agree that waste can be moved long distances with nearly no risk of accident or terrorist attack.

The topic of waste shipping is scheduled to come up today at a regular meeting of NRC's Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste at the NRC's headquarters in Rockville, Md.

The panel is convening a three-day meeting. Also among the agenda items: the long-term performance of the waste containers, which will be expected to isolate waste for up to 10,000 years.