The Atomic Puzzler!

Special Atomic Puzzler

Dr. Egghead's trusty dog, Gamma, is puzzled. In doing research for the centerfold of this issue, he found that different sources contain considerably different estimates for radioactive waste generated throughout the nuclear fuel cycle. He wanted to alert SDA readers to this problem, and also to ask for help in determining why these discrepancies exist. So, we are putting this challenge to you, our readers, as a special Atomic Puzzler. We will award a prize of $108.00 to the person who submits the most accurate explanation as to why estimates of radioactive waste generation vary among two given sources. The sources, reports by DOE and RAND, are cited below. The relevant waste volumes are provided in the table below. If you're interested in delving a bit deeper, the DOE document, now out of print, can be found on the internet at http://osti.gov/resource.html (from there, go to DOE Information Bridge, then search for the title "integrated data base" and choose Rev. 8 [1992]). The RAND study can be ordered ($8.00 including shipping) by contacting RAND at order@rand.org, 310-451-7002 (phone), or 310-451-6915 (fax). This is not a get-rich-quick scheme! Solving this Puzzler is likely to be difficult and time-consuming. (In fact, we don't even have the answers yet.) Thus IEER is offering a larger than usual prize and giving participants several months to submit their answers. Submissions will be judged by Dr. Egghead and Gamma. Entries must be sent to IEER by September 7, 2000. We will publish our findings in SDA shortly thereafter. Good luck! Annual lifetime radioactive waste generation per reactor*, in m3/GWe-yr (LLW=low-level waste, ILW=intermediate level waste; GTCC= Greater-than-Class-C LLW**)   DOE 1992*** RAND Mining & milling tailings 119,000 tailings 65,000 Conversion LLW 10.5 LLW 32-112 Enrichment LLW 3.7 LLW 3-40 Fuel fabrication LLW 82.7 LLW 3-9 Reactor operations LLW 165.7 LLW 86-130 ILW 22-33 Decommissioning LLW 290 GTCC 0.15 LLW 333 ILW 9 TOTALS tailings 119,000 LLW 552.6 GTCC 0.15 tailings 65,000 LLW 457-624 ILW 33-44 * Pressurized water reactor is the reference. ** GTCC waste is a category used in the United States and includes the most radioactive irradiated reactor parts and some instruments. ILW is defined on page 9. ***These figures are updated from those printed on pp. 24 and 32 in IEER's report, High Level Dollars, Low Level Sense (Apex Press, 1992), which used 1990 DOE data. Data sources: DOE 1992: US Department of Energy, Integrated Data Base for 1992: US Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Inventories, Projections, and Characteristics, DOE/RW-0006, Rev. 8, October 1992, page 279. RAND: Brian G. Chow and Gregory S. Jones, Managing Wastes With and Without Plutonium Separation, P-8035, Santa Monica, Calif.:RAND, 1999, page 37. Send us your answer via fax (1-301-270-3029), e-mail (ieer@ieer.org), or regular mail (IEER, 6935 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912 USA), postmarked by September 7, 2000. IEER will award one prize of $108.00 to the person who most accurately explains why the estimates of radioactive waste generation, provided in the table above, vary. In the event that the winning answer is submitted from outside the United States, the winner will receive one copy of each of the books Nuclear Wastelands: A Global Guide to Nuclear Weapons Production and Its Health and Environmental Effects (MIT Press, 1995) and The Nuclear Power Deception: US Nuclear Mythology from Electricity "Too Cheap To Meter" to "Inherently Safe" Reactors (Apex Press, 1999) in lieu of the cash prize, due to exchange rates. In the event of more than one most accurate answer, the prize will be awarded to the first one received.