Sept. 16, 2002

Duquette Named to Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board

David Duquette, professor and head of the department of materials science and engineering, was appointed by President Bush this summer to serve as a member of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB). The board held its first meeting Sept. 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As an expert in metallurgy and corrosion, Duquette will provide advice on the integrity of the nuclear waste container proposed for Yucca Mountain in Nevada, which Congress recently approved as a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The container and its contents are part of the Engineered Barrier System, which includes all manmade components within the mountain's vault that contribute to waste containment and isolation. Engineering barriers are being designed, in conjunction with the natural barriers, to minimize the amount of radioactive material that can eventually travel from the repository to the human environment.

"Because the waste material will continue to be radioactive for more than 10,000 years, it's imperative that the barrier system be designed and constructed from the most scientifically advanced materials we can develop," said Duquette. "The Engineered Barrier System, not the mountain itself, will be the first line of defense against any potential hazards."

The NWTRB, whose members are recommended to the White House by the National Academy of Sciences, has worked since its creation in 1987 to advise the Department of Energy (DOE), Congress, and the White House on sound science policies regarding nuclear waste disposal. The board, which reports directly to the White House and periodically to Congress, evaluates the technical and scientific validity of the activities of the DOE in site characterization, packaging or transportation of high-level nuclear waste.

For more information on the NWTRB, go to http://www.nwtrb.gov/.