288 



available, domestic spent fuel, and a limited amount of 

 foreign spent fuel in cases when such action would 

 further the obJ£ctives of our nonproliferation policy. 

 Cost of constructing and operating away-f rom-reactor 

 storage facilities will be borne by the users. 



The Administration will continue to pursue both international and 

 regional cooperative efforts to study nuclear fuel management 

 options consistent with our nuclear nonproliferation policy. 



4. Low Level Waste. 



Three commercial burial grounds -- South Carolina, Washington 

 State and Nevada — are currently available to reqeive low level 

 wastes originating in non-governmental industrial, medical and 

 commercial activities. These have been operating intermittently 

 because of inadequacies in waste packaging and shipment. Pres- 

 sures have been mounting to find additional disposal sites to 

 provide needed capacity for an ever-increasing inventory of 

 commercial low level wastes. 



The Department of Energy will work with the States to assist in 

 their activities to establish regional disposal sites for low 

 level wastes from the Nation's hospitals, research institutions, 

 industry, and utilities. Until such time as additional disposal 

 facilities can be sited and licensed, DOE and NRC will assist 

 States in setting up interim storage facilities within the 

 States. The State Planning Council will give low level waste 

 management early, priority attention. 



Other actions being taken in the area of low level waste include: 



• DOE will review by 1981 alternative low level waste 

 disposal techniques and determine whether any changes 

 should be adopted in the future. 



• DOE will accelerate R&D on improved methods of dis- 

 posing of low level wastes. 



• DOE will continue the existing land burial technology 

 program presently designed to upgrade all DOE low level 

 waste disposal operations by 1988. 



• DOE will take action to ensure that adequate attention 

 is given to the hydrologic characteristics of proposed 

 locations for the future siting of low level waste 

 disposal facilities. 



5. Uranium Mill Tailings. 



Past control of mill sites has been poor, with little or no 

 attention to the problem of proper disposal of tailings upon 

 completion of milling operations. The Uranium Mill Tailings 



