The Trail Left Behind From The Nuclear Race: Radioactive Waste

• Author: Austin McCarthy
• Position: Emory University School of Law
• Pages: 287-326

e Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law

ISSN: 2338-7602; E-ISSN: 2338-770X

http://www.ijil.org

© 2019 e Institute for Migrant Rights Press

thE trail lEft BEhind from thE

nuClEar raCE:

radIoaCtIve Waste

Austin McCarthy

Emory University School of Law

E-mail: austin.mccarthy@emory.edu

is article presents a discussion on the issue of the permanent disposal of ra-

dioactive waste. First, this article discusses the issues the United States has faced

in terms of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and Yucca Mountain. Second,

this article looks at the issue on a global scale. Lastly, this article addresses how a

solution can be found through multinational cooperation with the assistance of

the International Atomic Energy Agency. e article seeks to highlight the com-

mon issues that many countries face, and push toward a multinational solution.

e mechanism by which this is accomplished starts with a focus on the United

States, followed by connecting the issue beyond the United States’ borders.

Keywords: International Environmental Law, Waste Management Law, International

Governance, International Disaster Response Law.

VI Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law 287-326 (April 2019)

288

McCarthy

INTRODUCTION

Radioactivity is a natural feature of the environment. It is a phenom-

enon that has many benecial applications, such as power generation

and uses in medicine.1 Risks to people and the environment are a by-

product that coincides with the use of radioactive material to reap its

useful application. Risk of danger and misuse needs to be controlled

and addressed to minimize the negative side eects of the benecial

uses.2 Regulating the safety of radioactive materials is a national re-

sponsibility, but radiation risks can transcend borders and cause eects

on an international level.3

e safe disposal of radioactive waste and spent fuel, continues to

be a problem faced by countries that use nuclear power for electricity

generation and those that use radioactive material for medical,

research, and industrial purposes.4 e main concern stems from long-

lived radioactive waste that requires special treatment to make sure it

is isolated from people and the biosphere long enough for the decay of

radioactivity.5 Generally, it is accepted that the only method to manage

long-lived waste eectively is to permanently dispose of it in a geological

repository6 e repository will be lled with radioactive waste until it

is full, then eventually sealed and closed to hold the radioactive waste.7

Despite this widespread acknowledgement, long-lived waste continues

1. Int’l Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSR-

14: Geological Disposal Facilities For Radioactive Waste, at vii, IAEA Doc. STI/

PUB/1483 (Sept. 2011).

2. Id .

3. Int’l Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], Framework and Challenges for Initiating

Multinational Cooperation for the Development of a Radioactive Waste Reposi-

tory, at 1, IAEA Doc. No. NW-T-1.5 (Mar. 2016).

4. Id .

5. Id .

6. Id . A geological repository is an underground geological facility that is con-

structed through excavation to hold and process radioactive materials for per-

manent disposal. Id.

7. Henry Fountain, On Nuclear Waste, Finland Shows U.S. How It Can Be Done,

T N Y T (June 9, 2017), https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/09/

science/nuclear-reactor-waste-nland.html.

289

e Trail Le Behind From e Nuclear Race: Radioactive Waste

McCarthy

to pile up without a permanent disposal facility.

Yucca Mountain is symbolic of the diculties in achieving a solution

to the permanent disposal of radioactive waste. e United States has

studied the Yucca Mountain site for years as a potential repository

location, but has failed to continue development (defunded in 2012)

of the location.8 e need to permanently dispose of the radioactive

waste has been identied, but the successful completion of siting a

location for the repository has not been reached. On an international

level, concerns regarding safety and voluntary consent to a repository

siting location have prevented the creation of a functioning radioactive

waste repository. is article seeks to establish that the International

Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) and a multinational repository

have developed advanced safety standards and economic benets

that make multinational cooperation the best answer to dealing with

radioactive waste.

First, the article will discuss the background of nuclear waste

produced in the United States. To do this I will provide a framework

of how nuclear waste is produced and how it is currently being stored

once produced. e article will then address the United States’ attempt

to create a contractual solution to radioactive waste disposal. Second,

the article will explore the diculy other countries who produce

radioactive waste have encountered in attempt to permanently dispose

of the radioactive waste. ird, the article will introduce a solution

focused on multinational cooperation. Fourth, the article will address

why a multinational solution is the best option available to permanently

dispose of radioactive waste in the United States. Fih, the article will

address multiple criticisms to the multinational framework.

I. A HISTORY OF NUCLEAR WASTE IN

THE UNITED STATES

Nuclear technology has been used as an important source of power

production in the United States, which le an abundance of waste as

residue from energy production. e United States contains sixty com-

8. Id .