Nuclear Waste Disposal Program - Facts          

Nuclear Waste Fund

• Since 1983, nuclear electric consumers from 41 states have paid more than $37 billion, including interest, into the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF). 
• In its FY 2011 budget, the Administration terminated the disposal program and did not request any funds from the NWF, while it plans to continue collecting funds from the rate payers from 40 states*. 
  *The rate payers from the State of Colorado no longer pay fees into the NWF due to the shutdown of Fort St. Vrain nuclear power plant. 
• In the FY 2011 Continuing Resolution, Congress did not appropriate any funds from the NWF for the disposal program. 
• Annual appropriations to the disposal program represented approximately 13% to 20% of annual NWF 
  receipts from FY 2000–2010.
  

Facilities

• Spent nuclear fuel is stored in dry cask storage containers when spent fuel pools reach capacity or when reactor sites are shut down.
• Over 800 dry casks are currently being stored at 43 independent spent fuel storage sites licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
• 64 sites are expected to have dry cask storage by 2017. Repository opening date is uncertain.
• Six additional sites with shut down reactors already have dry storage facilities.
• Utility customers pay the costs of dry cask storage despite having already contributed billions of dollars into the federally mandated NWF.
• Taxpayers may also bear the costs of DOE’s liability for an estimated $500 million per year in additional costs for each year the repository’s opening is delayed beyond 2017. 
  

The DOE is Experienced at Moving and Storing Spent Nuclear Fuel

• Has made approximately 68 shipments each year for more than 30 years without a single incident of release of radiation to the environment.
• Safely moves and stores spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the U.S. Navy, research reactors, and from 41foreign governments.
• Plans 6,795 shipments of high-level radioactive waste during the next 34 years, NOT including SNF from commercial nuclear power plants.
• DOE has safely and successfully received 8,364 transuranic waste shipments at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico effective March 2010, without a single incident of release of radiation to the environment.