INAUGURAL OCRWM SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is responsible for obtaining regulatory approval to construct and operate a spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW) geologic repository at Yucca Mountain (YM), and to develop transportation and infrastructure needed to support operations. Most OCRWM program resources are devoted to these important objectives, to be accomplished over a long timeframe. OCRWM has also begun a separate Science and Technology (S&T) initiative to develop technological improvements and system enhancements to its baseline practices. This article describes the technical content of this S&T Program with a summary of its rationale, beginnings, current portfolio of projects, and near-term plans.