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Transporting and Storing High-Level Nuclear Waste in the U.S.—Insights from a Mathematical Model

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  • Wegel, Sebastian
  • Czempinski, Victoria
  • Oei, Pao-Yu
  • Wealer, Ben

Abstract

The nuclear industry in the United States of America has accumulated about 70,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste over the past decades; at present, this waste is temporarily stored close to the nuclear power plants. The industry and the Department of Energy are now facing two related challenges: (i) will a permanent geological repository, e.g., Yucca Mountain, become available in the future, and if yes, when?; (ii) should the high-level waste be transported to interim storage facilities in the meantime, which may be safer and more cost economic? This paper presents a mathematical transportation model that evaluates the economic challenges and costs associated with different scenarios regarding the opening of a long-term geological repository. The model results suggest that any further delay in opening a long-term storage increases cost and consolidated interim storage facilities should be built now. We show that Yucca Mountain’s capacity is insufficient and additional storage is necessary. A sensitivity analysis for the reprocessing of high-level waste finds this uneconomic in all cases. This paper thus emphasizes the urgency of dealing with the high-level nuclear waste and informs the debate between the nuclear industry and policymakers on the basis of objective data and quantitative analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Wegel, Sebastian & Czempinski, Victoria & Oei, Pao-Yu & Wealer, Ben, 2019. "Transporting and Storing High-Level Nuclear Waste in the U.S.—Insights from a Mathematical Model," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 9(12), pages 1-23.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:204656
    DOI: 10.3390/app9122437
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    References listed on IDEAS

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