United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2008-05-20 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GAO-08-813T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-813T P0b002ee180395cfb f:d08813t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-813T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-813T GAO-08-813T Access control Comparative analysis Data integrity Databases Facility management Federal/state relations Foreign governments Hazardous waste disposal License agreements Licenses Nuclear facilities Nuclear waste disposal Nuclear waste management Nuclear waste storage Policy evaluation Radiation exposure hazards Radioactive waste disposal Radioactive wastes Regulation Strategic planning Toxic substances Low-level radioactive waste Testimony A82155 Disposal of radioactive material continues to be highly controversial. To address part of the disposal problem, in 1980, Congress made the states responsible for disposing of most low-level radioactive waste (LLRW), and allowed them to form regional compacts and to restrict access to disposal facilities from noncompact states. LLRW is an inevitable by-product of nuclear power generation and includes debris and contaminated soils from the decommissioning and cleanup of nuclear facilities, as well as metal and other material exposed to radioactivity. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ranks LLRW according to hazard exposure--classes A, B, C, and greater-than-class C (GTCC). The states are responsible for the first three classes, and the Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for GTCC. Three facilities dispose of the nation's LLRW--in Utah, South Carolina, and Washington State. The testimony addresses (1) LLRW management in the United States and (2) LLRW management in other countries. It is substantially based on two GAO reports: a June 2004 report (GAO-04-604) and a March 2007, report (GAO-07-221) that examined these issues. To prepare this testimony, GAO relied on data from the two reports and updated information on current capacity for LLRW and access to disposal facilities. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-813T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-813T.htm GAO-08-813T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-813T Testimony GAO-08-813T; Low-Level Radioactive Waste: Status of Disposal Availability in the United States and Other Countries; Access control Comparative analysis Data integrity Databases Facility management Federal/state relations Foreign governments Hazardous waste disposal License agreements Licenses Nuclear facilities Nuclear waste disposal Nuclear waste management Nuclear waste storage Policy evaluation Radiation exposure hazards Radioactive waste disposal Radioactive wastes Regulation Strategic planning Toxic substances Low-level radioactive waste