Approved by the Energy, Environment, and Water Policy Committee on January 20, 2026 
Approved by the Public Policy and Practice Committee on May 27, 2026
Adopted by the Board of Direction on July 21, 2026

Policy

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recognizes that hazardous high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel (collectively “HLW”) disposal requires long term, technically sound planning, and management to protect public health and the environment. ASCE supports:

  • Permanent geologic storage as an effective means of safely and securely isolating for the protection of human health and the environment, recognizing that temporary storage facilities do not adequately provide a long-term solution. 
  • Federal legislation to establish a comprehensive national HLW management program, including well-engineered interim-storage practices, safe transportation, and development of a licensed geologic repository to address the continuing accumulation of HLW at commercial and federal facilities. 
  • Federal legislation supporting research and development for reprocessing and recycling of spent nuclear fuel.
  • Closure of the nuclear fuel cycle by reprocessing to preserve valuable uranium resources.
  • Continuing support for vitrification efforts as an effective means of stabilization of HLW.
  • Research for more effective and less expensive stabilization methods, including improved vitrification processes.

Issue

Commercial electric power generation, nuclear weapons production, the operation of naval reactors, and research and development activities have produced and will continue to produce HLW. Efforts are underway to increase energy production via nuclear power. Radioactive materials have accumulated since the mid-1940s at sites now managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and since 1957 at limited commercial reactors and storage facilities across the country. The wide distribution of HLW also represents an elevated risk to the general public, particularly in cases where the HLW may escape containment. Efforts like vitrification are under way to stabilize the wastes and reduce the risks associated with HLW at facilities with the largest quantities. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was tasked with the development of the first HLW repository planned for Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The NRC issued an Environmental Impact Statement Supplement in May 2016, however, the licensing decision for the facility remains suspended in legal proceedings. In 2021, DOE announced that they would not support HLW disposal at Yucca Mountain, leaving the nation with growing amounts of HLW and without any long-term disposal options, nor any plans for such. As of 2026, the Yucca Mountain project is still not moving forward.

Rationale

Civil engineers play a central role in the planning, design, construction, and long-term stewardship of HLW storage and disposal systems. Advancing repository development, improving interim-storage safety, and supporting research and development in stabilization and reprocessing technologies are essential to protecting public health and the environment.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) established the framework for developing a geologic repository; however, repository development has stalled, and not alternative disposal pathway has been implemented. Meanwhile, HLW volumes now exceed the statutory capacity originally planned for Yucca Mountain.

For more than half a century, deep geologic storage has been recognized by the National Academy of Sciences and the broader scientific community as the only technically credible long-term solution that does not rely on active management. Modern risk assessments continue to support this conclusion. At the same time, concerns regarding groundwater protection, seismic considerations, and security risks underscore the need for a scientifically rigorous and publicly accountable repository-development process.

Absent a permanent disposal pathway, HLW remains distributed across numerous federal and commercial facilities—an arrangement that increases long-term risks and costs. Reprocessing and recycling may reduce HLW volumes and recover valuable materials, and the United States should continue to evaluate these technologies as part of a modern fuel-cycle strategy.

ASCE Policy Statement 491
First Approved in 2001

Also see ASCE Policy Statement 262, Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management.