64 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ATOMIC RADIATION 



design and fabrication that will optimize both cost and safety factors, a detailed analysis of 

 all significant factors in the transportation problem followed by a field testing program for 

 different types of containers appears desirable. 



IV. The Cost of Radioactive Waste Management 



The total investment in waste handling and disposal facilities within the atomic energy 

 program now approximates $200,000,000; about $115,000,000 represents capital invest- 

 ment in underground storage tanks and appurtenances utilized for the long-term retention of 

 high-level radioactive wastes. The estimated annual operating cost of all waste handling 

 operations is approximately $6,000,000. Initial waste disposal costs, though large in absolute 

 values, are a relatively small fraction of unit nuclear power costs. Estimates based on recent 

 studies indicate that the storage of highly radioactive fuel reprocessing wastes in "perpetual 

 care" tanks for several hundred years can be accomplished for an estimated 0.1 to 0.15 mils 

 per kilowatt hour electrical (kwhe) for most reactor fuel types. 



Limited data from several power reactors now under construction in the United States 

 show capita! costs for waste handling and treatment systems ranging from $1.3 million to over 

 $4 million. Such costs range from $10 to $30 per electrical kilowatt or approximately 3-5% 

 of the total plant cost. As more operating data and experience are obtained, it would seem 

 likely that these costs can be reduced. In any case, the cost of effluent control does not loom 

 as a barrier to achieving economic or competitive nuclear power. If economic power from 

 nuclear fission is not achieved, it will not he due to waste management costs. It is generally 

 accepted that to an extent consistent with safety, the diluting power of the environment may 

 be used in disposal of low-level wastes. It has been demonstrated that present dispersal 

 methods result in radioactivity concentrations well below established permissible limits. The 

 cost of "absolute processing" or containing large volumes of low-level wastes would be pro- 

 hibitive and could present an unreasonable economic burden on the industry. 



V. Magnitude of Future Waste Management Problem 



The growth of nuclear power in the United States has been estimated by numerous 

 authorities in the field. It is generally conceded that in the next 20 years the principal source 

 of fission products will be from power reactor operations. 



In a future nuclear power economy, the volumes of power reactor wastes to be handled 

 must be considered in relation to the cumulative quantity of radioactivity being generated by 

 other atomic energy operations. At the present time, the waste volumes and activities from 

 stationary power reactors obviously are small when compared with those of government pro- 

 duction and test reactors. It appears reasonable to expect that by 1965 there will be in the 

 range of 10,000 to 20,000 thermal megawatts of power reactor capacity in the U. S., and that 

 by 1980 this figure will grow to about 100,000 thermal megawatts or more. The total fission 

 product inventory resulting from the processing of spent power reactor fuels in 1980 has been 

 estimated at 10 billion curies. About 800,000,000 curies will be strontium-90. 



It is estimated that approximately 36,000,000 gallons of different types of high-level fuel 

 reprocessing wastes will be accumulated from the reprocessing of power reactor fuels in 



