Nuclear Waste Transportation Act of 1987

Nuclear Waste Transportation Act of 1987 - Amends the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act to add a new Subtitle B: Transportation of High Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel, to provide that a package design shall be certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and adopted by the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Defense only after it has been proven in actual tests on full-scale packages, (not simulated tests, tests on scale models, or engineered analyses).

Requires the Secretary of Energy to report to the NRC and to the Congress within one year of the date of enactment of this Act on whether foreign package design safety standards should be adopted in the United States.

Mandates that as of the date of enactment of this Act, no high level radioactive waste may be transported by or for the Secretaries of Energy, of Defense, or of Transportation except in packages certified for such purpose by the NRC. Requires the NRC to conduct public hearings on the adequacy of the design standards and tests for packages used in radioactive waste transportation. Urges the Secretary of Transportation to give preference to rail transportation of radioactive waste when selecting shipping routes.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) to establish a licensing program for radioactive waste transportation. Prescribes guidelines for such program.

Prohibits the Secretary from approving a radioactive waste transportation route through an area designated by the Bureau of the Census as an urbanized area if certain local officials of the affected area recommend a significantly safer route. Requires the Secretary to provide training for local public safety officials through whose jurisdictions the Federal Government plans to transport radioactive waste. Requires the appropriate Federal agency to notify the local public safety officials through whose jurisdiction the Federal Government plans to make unclassified shipments of radioactive waste.

Authorizes the States and Indian tribes to impose regulations regarding radioactive waste transportation through their jurisdictions. Prescribes deadlines for the Secretary's prompt response to license applications. States that funding for activities under this Act shall be derived from the Nuclear Waste Fund.