The Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses

The CNWRA at Southwest Research Institute was created in 1987 as a federally funded research and development center. The CNWRA mission is to provide the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) with the long-term technical assistance and scientific research required for the NRC to fulfill its obligations under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. This function includes technical investigations of the geological and hydrological setting of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository, development of models of repository performance, and systematic reviews of investigations by the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors in their analyses of site suitability. One of the primary goals of all CNWRA research is to determine how well radioactive waste can be isolated from the environment in geological repositories, and at Yucca Mountain in particular.

Published in the Summer 1995 issue of Technology Today®, published by Southwest Research Institute. For more information, contact Joe Fohn.