Preliminary Planning Considerations Relating to Transportation Security of Nuclear Waste

Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended (NWPA), the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) was responsible for siting, construction and operation of a geologic repository for the permanent disposal of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW) at the planned Yucca Mountain site. OCRWM was also responsible for safely and securely transporting SNF and HLW from numerous sites to the repository. This paper provides an overview of a number of security considerations applicable to the preliminary planning process for such transportation. This paper will briefly discuss general security requirements for current DOE shipments and also reviews some of the considerations pertaining to selected transportation risk factors, as discussed by both DOE and other parties.