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Updates from the SRSCRO
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February 2019
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Follow us on Twitter!
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Rick McLeod @atomicasset
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Nuclear Waste Fund Current Status
 The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) was signed into law on January 7, 1983. The NWPA establishes a framework for the financing, siting, licensing, operating and decommissioning of one or more mined geologic repositories for the nation's spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) which is to be carried out by the Department of Energy (Department or DOE). In addition, the NWPA contains other provisions including:
- Assigning responsibility for the payment of disposal costs to the owners and generators of SNF and HLW and creating a special Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) within the Department of Treasury of the United States for the collection of fees to cover such costs;
- Providing for contracts between the Department and the owners and generators of SNF and HLW pursuant to which the Department is to take title to the SNF or HLW as expeditiously as possible, following commencement of repository operations and, in return for payment of fees established by the NWPA, to begin disposal of the SNF or HLW not later than January 31, 1998; and
- Requiring evaluation of the use of civilian disposal capacity for the disposal of HLW resulting from atomic energy defense activities (Defense HLW). In April 1985, the President notified the Department of his determination that a separate defense waste repository was not necessary and directed the Department to proceed with arrangements for disposal of such waste. Fees, equivalent to those paid by commercial owners, must be paid for this service by the Federal Government.
The results of the independent certified public accountants' audit of the balance sheets of the Department of Energy Nuclear Waste Fund can be found
here
. To fulfill the Office of Inspector General audit responsibilities, they contracted with the independent public accounting firm of KPMG LLP to conduct the audit.
As of September 30, 2018, the U.S. Treasury securities held by the Department related to the NWF had a fair market value of $43.4 billion.
The fund's
most recent audit
shows its value actually is down from 2016's $46 billion.
Investment income and net gains from the maturity of securities totaled $1.5 billion for FY 2018.
The estimate of the remaining liability from the SNF litigation was $28.1 billion. Since no appropriation related to fulfilling the Department's NWPA obligations was received for FY2019, an additional year delay was added to the current estimate. Under current law, any damages or settlements in this litigation will be paid out of the Judgment Fund.
The
U.S. Government Accountability Office
says delays in taking custody of commercial spent nuclear fuel costs the federal government another $500 million every year.
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Deep Boreholes Disposal Revival
 As noted in the story above, not much has been going on as it relates to ultimate storage of our nation's nuclear waste. However, a father-daughter team of Richard and Elizabeth Muller think they have an answer: reverse fracking.
Their startup, Deep Isolation, would use hydraulic fracturing to bury radioactive waste in horizontal tunnels through shale a mile underground. Rather than creating large tunnels, Deep Isolation will place nuclear waste in narrow 18-inch horizontal drillholes in rock that has been stable for millions of years. No humans need go underground.
According to the company's information (see their graphic), the Deep Isolation repository begins with a vertical access drillhole extending thousands of feet deep and will then gently turn horizontal. Canisters containing nuclear waste would be stored in the deep horizontal section. A deep horizontal drillhole repository takes advantage of the exceptional isolation properties of geologic formations whose stability has endured for tens of millions of years or more. Deep disposal would also be far below aquifers, in a region in which water has had no contact with the surface for a million years or more.
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DOE-EM Cleanup Liability Costs
 In their January 2019 released
report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that the Department of Energy (DOE) develop a program-wide strategy to clean up waste from Cold War nuclear weapons production.
The Office of Environmental Management (EM) relies primarily on individual sites to negotiate cleanup activities and establish priorities.
DOE is tasked with cleaning up waste from Cold War nuclear weapons production. The GAO estimates the total cleanup cost for the radioactive contamination incurred by developing and producing these weapons could cost $377 billion in 2018, which is about $109 billion more than last year's estimate. In 2017, the GAO estimated its EM office's "environmental liability" at $268 billion. EM's environmental liability grew by about $214 billion from 2011 to 2018, outpacing its cleanup spending of about $45 billion for that period.
Four sites - Hanford, Idaho National Lab (INL), Savannah River, and the Oak Ridge Site - together account for more than 80 percent of the office's fiscal 2017 liability, the GAO said. The Hanford Site alone accounted for $141 billion, or more than half, of the fiscal 2017 nuclear remediation liability.
The GAO said the proposed program-wide strategy should balance risks and costs across the various cleanup sites.
EM sites generally do not consider other sites' risks and priorities when making cleanup decisions, and this is not consistent with recommendations by GAO to develop national priorities to balance risks and costs across and within its sites.
However, EM has not developed such a program-wide strategy. Without a national strategy, EM is likely not making the most cost-effective cleanup decisions across its sites. Further, GAO stated that DOE should submit an annual cleanup report and disclose the funding needed to comply. DOE agreed with all three recommendations.
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Spotlight
ACE
In support of the
Alliance for Fort Gordon, local education and community partners meet regularly as part of the Alliance for Cyber Education (ACE) Committee. ACE initiatives focus on organically growing a knowledge-based workforce centered around cybersecurity and information technology. The network of partners from across the Georgia and South Carolina region is building awareness, education & training, and professional development opportunities for students and teachers.
ACE partners have been instrumental in supporting the region's CyberPatriot youth cyber education program, with 101 teams participating in the region. In fact, the Air Force Association's (AFA) CyberPatriot Program Office has
announced
the Fort Gordon Cyber District (Alliance for Cyber Education) as its newest CyberPatriot Center of Excellence - joining only 14 other centers in the nation.
CyberPatriot, the nation's largest and fastest growing youth cyber education program, is AFA's flagship science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program dedicated to strengthening cyber skills among American youth. The Center of Excellence designation is awarded to communities and institutions that provide leadership and support to further the educational experiences of their students through the CyberPatriot program.
ACE partners are working to attract student interest in cyber-related education and careers. The Committee also is working on ways to bring more mentors to the local K-12 education programs in support of local teachers and outreach programs.
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Groundhog Day
Fun Facts
 1. The Germans started the whole Groundhog Day thing - Yes, the see-his-shadow-or-not concept stems from Germany and the holiday, Candlemas. Early European Christians believed that if the sun came out on Candlemas (also February 2), winter would last for another six weeks.
2. The groundhog really can predict the end of winter - Just not with his shadow. Because groundhogs hibernate every winter, the fact that he'd bother to leave his hideaway is a natural sign of spring to come! The furry critter is also easy to find - groundhogs live in the majority of central and eastern U.S., plaguing gardeners everywhere.
3. Punxsutawney Phil is just a nickname - Phil has a ridiculously long official name. His full moniker is "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary."
4. Punxsutawney Phil isn't the only weather predictor - A few states use their own groundhogs to celebrate the holiday rather than relying on Phil. Other weather oracles include General Beau Lee of Atlanta, GA, Sir Walter Wally from Raleigh, NC, and Birmingham Bill from Birmingham, AL.
5. Flipping a coin is more accurate than Phil - The National Climatic Data Center compared U.S. national temperatures from 1988 to 2012 to determine the accuracy of Phil's predictions, and he's only been proven correct 39% of the time - significantly worse than chance.
6. "Groundhog Day" the movie put Punxsutawney Phil on the map - After the release of the 1993 film starring Bill Murray, attendance to the big event in Punxsutawney exploded, drawing crowds of up to 30,000 people.
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Closing Thoughts
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All wish to possess knowledge, but few, comparatively speaking, are willing to pay the price.
- Juvenal
I have noticed that nothing I never said ever did me any harm. - Calvin Coolidge
Change before you have to. -
Jack Welch
He that lives upon hope will die fasting. - Benjamin Franklin
The price of greatness is responsibility. -
Winston Churchill
When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt. - Henry J. Kaiser
Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it. - Winston Churchill
Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered - either by themselves or by others.
- Mark Twain
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Contact Information
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SRSCRO, PO Box 696, Aiken, SC 29802
Staff:
Rick McLeod - President/CEO - 803-508-7402
Mindy Mets - NWI® Program Manager - 803-508-7403
Amy Merry - Administrative & Business Manager - 803-508-7401
Kim Saxon - Assistant Coordinator - 803-508-7656
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