How to do it right: U.S. Western State perspectives on highly radioactive materials transportation

In the US, most of the existing or proposed radioactive waste storage and disposal sites are located in the West. Western states' participation in transportation to these sites has provided useful insights. In addition, the prospect of future large-scale transportation in the West, especially that of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste (SNF/HLW), gives the Western states a keen interest in future planning efforts. From this place of both actual experience and keen interest, the Western Interstate Energy Board High-Level Radioactive Waste (WIEB HLRW) Committee decided to work together to formulate policy positions on how best to conduct SNF/HLW transportation. After all, the record of safety that radmat transportation has largely enjoyed is not built on robust casks and regulation alone. Many human choices fill the gulf between what has been, and what may yet be. The WIEB policy papers seek to inform these human choices using the history and experiences that have brought us to now. The policy papers that have come out of the HLRW Committee's consensus work have been adopted by the WIEB Board, and generally endorsed by the Western Governors' Association. This presentation would briefly describe the policy formulation process, then summarize some of the policy recommendations contained within the adopted papers. Titles of some policy papers include: \"The WIPP Transportation Model and its Application to SNF/HLW Transport\"; \"Social Risk\"; and \"Physical Protection Requirements for SNF Transport.\"