HOW MUCH WASTE IS THERE?
I                               Illlllllllllllllllllllllll11111111Il
COMMERCIAL SPENT FUEL 11,088,000 CURIES
MILITARY LIQUID WASTE 1,307,000 CURIES
1   2   3  4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11
MILLION OF CURIES
SOURCE: DOE, 1982
Hf7W  MUCH7 W   STF IN     T  YEAR 2000
20005I00IIIICiiIIIII               I
I2000 950,000 CUBIC FEET

These bar graphs show the
volume and radioactivity of
commercial spent fuel and
military (liquid and solidified)
high-level waste. Note that
commercial spent fuel has
only 112% of the volume, but
over 90% of the radiation.
This is because spent fuel is in
solid form and contains all of
the remaining uranium, plu-
tonium and other radioactive
elements. Liquid military
waste has more volume, but is
less radioactive, because the
uranium and plutonium have
been removed.
DOE has projected substantial
increases in both quantity and
radioactivity of commercial
and military waste over the
next decades. Actual in-
creases will depend on US en-
ergy and weapons policies.

What will happen if storage fills up before a permanent disposal site is ready?

If utilities run out of storage space before 1998, they
might build more storage or ship waste around the coun-
try to reactors with room. But a repository will probably
not be operating by 1998, when DOE is required by law to
assume ownership of the spent fuel. To provide needed
space before permanent disposal becomes available,
DOE has proposed to build a Monitored Retrievable Stor-
age (MRS) plant.

The MRS would be an above-ground controlled
building where spent fuel would be stored for a limited
time. The fuel would also be packaged at the MRS before
shipment to a repository. Some radioactivity will decay,
and some heat will be lost during temporary storage.
Congress must approve funds before DOE can site and
build an MRS.

High-Level Nuclear Waste

1984 104,000 CUBIC FEET

1        2        3        4        5         6        7        8        9        10

IN HUNDRED THOUSAND CUBIC FEET

SOURCE: DOE, 1982

8       9      10