Have waste, will travel : An examination of the implication of high-level nuclear waste transportation

This paper is a critical look at the transportation problems posed by the establishment of a national nuclear waste repository in the western United States, and as such, outlines the major technical, logistical, organizational, and policy questions taht have not been addressed regarding the movement of spent nuclear fuel across the nation. Included are a brief history of the policies and legislation that have promoted nuclear energy production in the U.S., a critical review of the legal and political issues currently surrounding nuclear energy transportation, and a history and critique of the siting process that resulted in three final candidate site for the western repository -- Yucca Mountain, Nevada: Hanford, washington; and Deaf Smith County, Texas. This material is followed by an analysis of the routing problems involved with nuclear waste transportation, an overview of the emergency preparedness measures needed to complement such transportation, and a thorough survey of how all these various issues specifically apply to the state of Colorado. Emerging from this study is one clear problem concerning nuclear waste transportation. The issue is subject to a fundamental tension that makes resolution of conflict unlikely: The federal goverment has essentially imposed routes and regulations upon state and local goverments, but has not provided means or support for abiding by those mandates. Lower levels of goverment bear the responsibility for safe transportation but have little say in how it should be managed. (AU)