Summary: States acting alone or in compacts have collectively spent nearly $600 million during the last 18 years trying to find and develop about 10 sites for disposing of commercially generated, low-level radioactive wastes. However, none of these efforts have been successful. California licensed a facility, but the federal government did not transfer to the state the federal land on which the proposed site is located. In three other states, possible sites were rejected by state regulatory agencies. North Carolina was considering a license application for a site when it shut down the project for what it said were budgetary reasons. At this time, the efforts by states to develop new disposal facilities have essentially stopped. This report also discusses (1) the status of the management and disposal of commercially generated low-level radioactive wastes, including the continued availability of the three existing disposal facilities, the volume of wastes disposed of, and the waste that are not authorized for disposal at the existing facilities, and (2) alternative approaches to managing and disposing of commercially generated low-level radioactive wastes.
