134. 



9.2 This amount of total space is approximately 10% of the amount of 

 space being produced annually in the mining of rock salt at the present 

 time. By the year 2000 it is to be expected that the volume of salt 

 production -will increase several times, production having doubled in 

 the last 15 years. 



10. TRANSPORTATION OF NUCLEAR WASTE 



10. 1 The three methods in use for transportation of high-level nuclear 

 ■waste, trucks on highways, barges and ships on waterways, and cars 

 by railway, are all costly because of the necessity for shielding and 

 other requirements for safety in transit, (33) . Trucks are used for trans- 

 portation of waste for relatively short distances and generally in areas 

 where safety is carefully controlled. The transportation of waste from 

 processing plants to points of disposal is principally by rail or water. 

 Estimates of cost indicate that rail transportation costs several times 

 as much as water transportation for equivalent distances. The hazards 

 of transportation of highly radioactive materials by rail through popu- 

 lated areas are also greater than is generally the case along water 

 routes. For these reasons it may be advantageous to locate plants for 

 the processing of spent fuel at points where the spent fuel can be trans- 

 ported by water from the reactor. 



11. ACCESSIBILITY OF SALT SPACE FOR WASTE DISPOSAL 



11.1 The principal areas in which salt deposits occur are those in the 

 north central states and in the southern states along the Gulf Coast. 



11.2 The salt deposits of the north central states, New York, Pennsyl- 

 vania, Ohio and Michigan, are adjacent to the Great Lakes and lie in 

 part beneath these bodies of water. It is possible in this region to use 

 water transportation for the movement of spent fuel to a processing 

 plant from points as far separated as New York City on the east to 

 Chicago or Duluth on the west. 



11.3 In southeastern Michigan or in northern Ohio a processing plant 

 could be located on the shore of Lake Erie directly above salt deposits 

 occurring at a depth of about 2,000 feet. Suitable facilities for unload- 

 ing barges could be provided at the plant. Shafts could be driven to the 

 underlying salt and the salt produced and marketed. The mined-out 

 space could be so planned as to provide adequate roof support and safe 

 routes for the transportation of waste to points of storage. The mining 



