468 



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wastes that will have been produced by the year 2000 will be 



approximately 8,000,000 cubic meters of low- level wastes, 



835,000 cubic meters of transuranic wastes, and 320,000 cubic 



meters of defense-related high-level wastes. By addina the projected 



89,000 metric tons of commercial spent fuel generation that 



will have occurred by the year 2000, which will have to be 



stored or reprocessed, it is evident — even excluding any 



worldwide projections — that long term solutions must be 



found for managing our nuclear wastes. 



The current administration has taken significant steps 

 in this direction, first, by forming the Interagency Review 

 Group on Nuclear Waste Management ("IRG") to examine the 

 problem, and then, by adopting most of the recommendations 

 contained in its 1979 R^eport, This report identifies the 

 primary objective of waste management planning and implementa- 

 tion - that nuclear waste be isolated from the biosphere and 

 pose no significant threat to public health and safety. While 

 the dominant focus of the IRG Report was on land-based geologic 

 disposal, the ocean disposal option and institutional respon- 

 sibilities relating to it were noted and discussed. Similarly, 

 the U.S. Radiation Policy Council, V7hich was created as a result 

 of the IRG recommendations, includes within its charge the 

 consideration of alternatives to shallow land burial for low-level 

 radioactive wastes. 



At present there exists a consensus within the United 

 States that the ocean alternative is not a viable disposal 



