ANS President Tom Sanders testifies before Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future
Specifically, the Commission will provide advice, evaluate alternatives, and make recommendations for a new plan to address these issues, including:
- Evaluation of existing fuel cycle technologies and R&D programs. Criteria for evaluation should include cost, safety, resource utilization and sustainability, and the promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and counter-terrorism goals;
- Options for safe storage of used nuclear fuel while final disposition pathways are selected and deployed;
- Options for permanent disposal of used fuel and/or high-level nuclear waste, including deep geological disposal;
- Options to make legal and commercial arrangements for the management of used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste in a manner that takes the current and potential full fuel cycles into account;
- Options for decision-making processes for management and disposal that are flexible, adaptive, and responsive;
- Options to ensure that decisions on management of used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste are open and transparent, with broad participation;
- The possible need for additional legislation or amendments to existing laws, including the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended; and
- Any such additional matters as the Secretary of Energy determines to be appropriate for consideration.
The Commission is meeting May 25-26. The meeting is being webcast. The webcast and meeting materials may be accessed online by visiting http://brc.gov/events.html.
