NUREG-2157 is a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). It evaluates the environmental risks of long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel after nuclear reactors shut down, whether that waste remains at reactor sites or is moved elsewhere.
Unlike site-specific studies, this is a nationwide, program-level analysis. It examines what could happen if nuclear waste is stored for decades or even indefinitely, since a permanent disposal site (such as Yucca Mountain) is not available. The report analyzes impacts over multiple timeframes, including 60 years, an additional 100 years, and the possibility of storage with no defined end date.
This document does not approve any single project. Instead, it serves as a foundational legal document under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
- It provides the regulatory basis for the NRC’s “Continued Storage Rule” (10 C.F.R. § 51.23), which formally adopts the report’s conclusions into federal regulation.
- It allows the NRC to rely on a single, generic environmental analysis when licensing reactors, storage facilities, or renewals, rather than requiring a full review of long-term waste impacts each time.
- It was developed in response to a federal court decision (New York v. NRC) that required the agency to more fully evaluate the risks of indefinite nuclear waste storage.
