Monitored, retrievable storage: priority needed

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 establishes a program for the siting and construction of deep geologic repositories and also provides for the development of a proposal to Congress for the construction of facilities for the long-term monitored, retrievable storage (MRS) of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. The fundamental difference between these approaches to the long-term isolation of nuclear waste is that the former is irreversible, while the latter is not. This article discusses the motivations of the sponsors of the MRS provisions of the Act, the legislative history of these provisions, and the current status of the implementation of the provisions by the Department of Energy.