By Kari Hulac

At Deep Isolation we are all here for one reason: To solve a decades-old environmental problem that most people never even think about.

Yes, that is as difficult as it sounds. It’s so difficult, in fact, that most governments around the world have yet to solve it while ratepayer dollars allotted for a permanent disposal solution collect dust in the coffers, and taxpayer dollars pay for interim storage.

Unless you personally live near one of the 93 commercial nuclear reactors operating in the United States at 55 locations in 28 states, you probably rarely think about nuclear energy or spent nuclear fuel, which is radioactive and requires specialized handling and containment for thousands of years.

Most of those who do live near a plant, where waste is temporarily stored in very large concrete casks, aren’t too worried because it is safe where it is.

While spent nuclear fuel is safe in these storage casks, this was never intended to be permanent. The international scientific consensus for decades has been that the BEST place for spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste is in deep geologic disposal, where it’s protected from the elements and can’t be tampered with by humans. In the U.S. disposal in a mined repository is required by law.

We believe governments have a moral and legal obligation to move forward with permanent waste disposal. We think this is more important now than ever:

*To reduce opposition to clean nuclear power and fight climate change;

*And to increase energy independence as a national security priority.

As a company we’ve internally struggled with how to raise public awareness and gain public support for solving a problem that is (mostly) out of sight and thus, out of mind. How do we persuade the government that doing nothing is not a solution?

So, a small group of us got together and embarked on a mission to: Find out what people think about waste and nuclear energy; provide factual information in hopes of inspiring others to feel more inspired to solve this problem; and finally, give those newly inspired folks a way to make their voices heard by those with the power to make change.

Solve Nuclear Waste Project

First, we took the public’s temperature to make sure we were on the right track. We launched a nationally representative U.S. poll last summer and found that 70 percent of those surveyed agree that it’s the government’s job to solve this problem. We also found that people would be more likely to support nuclear energy if the waste was in safe disposal.

Once we gathered the poll data, we gut-checked our progress with a focus group of nearly 20 stakeholders and environmental community advocates. We took their suggestions to heart, and the Solve Nuclear Waste website was born.

The webpage features facts about nuclear waste in the U.S. and a pledge that concerned citizens can sign as a rallying cry to hold government accountable to solve this issue now. (If we’re successful, we certainly hope to expand our efforts worldwide.)

We see this pledge as an important initial step to talk more openly about nuclear waste and earn support for action needed by decision makers who can help drive progress on this long-standing environmental issue.

Once we collect a critical mass of signatures, we plan to share this information with decision makers to demonstrate that the public DOES care about nuclear waste disposal and wants this problem addressed now.

We hope you’ll visit the new webpage and consider signing our pledge today.

By Betsy Madru

In 2012, the U.S. Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future was formed by the Secretary of Energy to conduct a comprehensive review of policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. One of the Commission’s recommendations was to use consent-based siting approaches to determine a location for a facility to store and dispose of nuclear waste. 

In 2017 the United States Department of Energy developed and requested public comment on the “Draft Consent-Based Siting Process for Consolidated Storage and Disposal Facilities for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste.” The incorporation of consent-based siting in DOE’s nuclear waste work is moving the nation’s nuclear waste program in the right direction. 

The DOE has revived its efforts by recently issuing a Request for Information on “Using a Consent-Based Siting Process To Identify Federal Interim Storage Facilities.” This means interested entities had an opportunity to submit their thoughts on how such a process should be conducted to ultimately help the U.S. progress toward a solution. 

Here is an excerpt from Deep Isolation’s RFI response:

“The Department of Energy should lay out a comprehensive plan for development of an entire waste management system that provides flexibility in the strategy and approach for storage, transportation, and disposal. An essential part of any fully integrated plan is continuation of generic work that will be required regardless of the final destination of the material, such as work being done under 180(c) of the NWPA to provide technical and financial training to local state and tribal public safety officials whose jurisdictions are on major transportation routes. Initiating a consent-based siting process for interim storage is an important first step of the Department’s overall plan, but it must be developed against the larger backdrop of a comprehensive system that is grounded in sound science and built on a platform of public trust and confidence.”

“Progress on establishing one or more permanent disposal facilities is critical to efforts to develop an interim storage facility. … If it is assumed that potential interim storage sites will be pursued using a consent-based process, then the hosts of those sites must have reasonable confidence that the sites will, in fact, be “interim” and not become permanent by default. The only way to maintain that balance and assurance is to have a robust integrated waste management system that includes both types of facilities as well as the accompanying safety and regulatory structure to enable success.”

“New regulations for geologic disposal must be built on a solid technical foundation of safety analyses and performance assessments, and must establish regulatory certainty at the outset…. Clarity and certainty about the regulatory process will provide a necessary underpinning for conversations about the siting of disposal facilities.  This will in turn provide greater confidence that interim storage will not become permanent and will allow more open dialogue with prospective host communities and states that is built on a platform of transparency and trust”

Now that responses to the RFI have been submitted, the Office of Nuclear Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy will use the 220 responses submitted to inform development of a consent-based siting process, overall strategy for an integrated waste management system, and possibly a funding opportunity. The DOE has consolidated all the responses and is planning to issue a report of all the findings in the coming months and 

To learn more:

Social Scientist Explains Community Consent

Keeping Nuclear Waste Transportation Safe

What factors influence nuclear waste storage or disposal?