Department of energy to study yucca mountain as a nuclear waste repository in 1987. Doe and nrc then took steps such as eliminating funding and vacating nrc. Few ideas are so bad that they can legitimately be labeled as potentially catastrophic, but that term fits the proposed yucca mountain nuclear waste repository like a brightly glowing glove. The yucca mountain repository is the proposed spent nuclear fuel snf and highlevel radioactive waste hlw repository where both types of radioactive waste could be disposed. Between 1944 and 1989, the us produced plutonium for use in nuclear weapons at the does hanford nuclear reservation in the tricities. Volcanic hazard at proposed yucca mountain nuclear waste. In 2010, doe reversed course and said yucca mountain was no longer a workable option.
Many of the missions conducted at this location occurred underground to reduce or prevent the impact of radiation coming to the surface. It is unlikely a better location for the disposal of nuclear waste could be found. Congress selected yucca mountain in 1987 to become the nations permanent repository for nuclear waste generated by utility power plants and the military. Yucca mountain nuclear waste repository 2002 youtube. There were a few other reasons for why yucca mountain was proposed. The agency filed for a construction permit there in 2008. The proposed action addressed in this final eis is to construct, operate and monitor, and eventually close a geologic repository at yucca mountain in southern nevada for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and highlevel radioactive waste. Welcome to the eureka county yucca mountain information office. The yucca mountain nuclear waste repository, as designated by the nuclear waste policy act amendments of 1987, is a proposed deep geological repository storage facility within yucca mountain for spent nuclear fuel and other highlevel radioactive waste in the united states. By 2012, existing waste at reactors exceeded the statutory capacity limit. View archival yucca mountain documents that were previously posted on the website for the office of civilian radioactive waste management. Currently, the doe controls and manages spent nuclear fuel policy and the yucca mountain repository. Jul 23, 2015 nuclear waste is a product of the nuclear power plants and even though we would love not to have it, we still have to deal with it.
Potential high level nuclear waste storage site for the next 10,000 years and beyond. Will trump and perry revive proposed yucca mountain. In 1998, more than 200 public interest organizations petitioned the doe to immediately disqualify the yucca mountain, nevada site and declare it unsuitable for further consideration as a highlevel nuclear waste repository due to the finding of chlorine36 at elevated levels deep within the mountain. Yucca mountain nuclear waste repository between 1944 and 1989, the us produced plutonium for use in nuclear weapons at the does hanford nuclear reservation in the tricities. The site itself is incapable of isolating spent fuel and highlevel radioactive wastes. Apr 26, 2002 originally, yucca mountain was selected because of its natural characteristics. Yucca mountain is not being looked at as a geologic repository at all. Yucca mountain the most studied real estate on the planet. A bechtelled team studied yucca mountain as the site for the united states first national nuclear waste repositorywhere spentfuel rods from nuclear power plants and solidified highlevel radioactive waste from nuclear defense activities could be stored permanently. Jun 03, 2018 congress selected yucca mountain in 1987 to become the nations permanent repository for nuclear waste generated by utility power plants and the military. Yucca mountain is located in western nevada, near the california border. Its mission is to regulate the nations civilian use of radioactive materials in a way that protects public health and safety and the environment. Burying nuclear waste deep beneath yucca mountain in nevada, as the u. In 1996, yucca mountain is found to be lacking the natural geological and hydrological qualities that are needed to be the crucial first barrier of the waste.
Nuclear regulatory commission nrc for a license to construct a repository at yucca mountain. Yucca mountain is an ideal site for nuclear disposal the. Yucca mountain as a radioactive waste repository usgs. Nevada, as a candidate site for disposing of the waste in a geologic repository. Power plants in 33 states store nearly 80,000 metric tons of radioactive waste.
Nuclear waste is a product of the nuclear power plants and even though we would love not to have it, we still have to deal with it. Apr 09, 2002 nuclear waste storage president bushs recommendation to develop a nuclear waste repository at yucca mountain in nevada was the subject of a december 19, 2001. Washington reuters republican lawmakers want to revive a planned underground nuclear waste deposit that was scrapped by the obama. The deep geologic repository has been transformed into an engineered facility that relies almost exclusively on human built components to keep wastes isolated from people and the environment for tens of thousands of years yucca mountain is not being looked at as a geologic repository at all. Nuclear waste repository definition of nuclear waste. It is common sense, and sound science, to site and build a nuclear waste repository to isolate radioactive waste as completely as possible from the human environment for the hazardous lifetime of the waste. The department of energy doe had previously evaluated possible rail routes for hauling highlevel nuclear waste to the proposed repository before the project was defunded in 2012.
Yucca mountain, about 90 miles from las vegas, was in the 1980s identified as the nations potential nuclear storehouse it would take, and hold, some of the most hazardous wastes on the planet. If you want to understand the full range of technical issues related to yucca mountain and nuclear wastefrom rainwater flow through the mountain to corrosion of nuclear waste containers and the consequent movement of radioactive material to nevadas amargosa valley. To even begin actual construction, doe would need a construction authorization from the u. Subcommittee passes bill to make yucca mountain the. As one of the designated affected units of local government, eureka county maintains this website to keep citizens informed about the decisions concerning the potential transportation and disposal of nuclear waste at yucca mountain, nevadaon this website you will find current news clippings. Despite nevada protests against it, a measure to make yucca mountain the nations nuclear waste repository advanced in a congressional subcommittee thursday morning.
Washington hosts and oversees the cleanup of nearly twothirds of the nations defenserelated, highlevel radioactive waste at hanford. Nuclear regulatory commission nrc is an independent agency created by congress. A guided tour inside the proposed later killed yucca mountain nuclear waste repository in nye county, nevada. The site is located on federal land adjacent to the nevada test site in. Dry cask onsite storage at nuclear reactor locations for the near term 100 years onsite storage is the best, most.
Yucca mountain repository nye, nevada atlas obscura. In fact, transporting nuclear waste to yucca mountain would require up to six convoys of heavily guarded trucks every day for 24 years. Feb 16, 2010 south carolina governor mark sanford discusses the obama administrations decision to scrap the yucca mountain nuclear waste repository. From this point forward, the problem of highlevel radioactive waste disposal in the united states was no longer a question of how, but where. This requires the project to start relying on engineered barriers. Transportation of spent nuclear fuel was the topic raised most often as senators heard several days of testimony on establishing a permanent nuclear waste repository at yucca mountain, nevada. Scientists prepare to debate danger of yucca mountains. Yucca mountain, the proposed site for a nuclear waste repository, is seen from crater flat where dormant cinder cone volcanos dot the desert floor, on.
Additional yucca mountain license applicationrelated documents are available through the nuclear regulatory. Geologic repository for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and highlevel radioactive waste at yucca mountain, nye county, nevada. In 1983, yucca mountain was named as a potential site for a nuclear waste repository. The yucca mountain nuclear waste dump, a political hot. Scientists voice concerns about yucca mountain repository. The yucca mountain nuclear waste repository is a deep geological repository storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste located in nye county, nevada in the united states. Currently, nuclear waste is stored in above ground pools, scattered across the u. With a tweet, trump reverses course on yucca mountain. This material contains more than 95% of the radioactivity not volume in the dregs of the nuclear age. Yucca mountain is the site of a proposed highlevel nuclear waste repository in nevada that was halted in 2010.
Department of energy proposes to do, is neither an urgent necessity nor a rational, longterm solution to. In 2008, the department of energy applied to the nuclear regulatory commission to build an underground repository for this waste at yucca mountain in nevada. In 1998, more than 200 public interest organizations petitioned the doe to immediately disqualify the yucca mountain, nevada site and declare it unsuitable for further consideration as a highlevel nuclear waste repository due to the finding of chlorine36 at. Or get the facts about yucca mountain, nevada and nuclear. Yucca mountain s characterization as a nuclear waste repository had received questions from the nuclear regulatory commission in comments on the 1988 u. Jun 07, 2005 yucca mountain repository is the proposed united states department of energy deep geological repository storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel and other radioactive waste. Department of energy doe to dispose of this waste in a repository at yucca. Yucca mountain repository is the proposed united states department of energy deep geological repository storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel and other radioactive waste. The yucca mountain nuclear waste repository is situated right next to the nevada test site, which is where the u. Air force secretary critical of nuclear waste routes to. Solving a national problem now on june 3, 2008, the u. The nuclear waste policy act of 1982, as amended, requires the secretary of energy to determine, on the basis of the investigation, if the site is suitable for a repository and, if this determination is positive. Originally, yucca mountain was selected because of its natural characteristics. The site was officially approved in 2002 and was expected to begin accepting spent nuclear fuel by 2017, however due to heavy political opposition the site was never officially opened and its.
The yucca mountain nuclear waste repository, as designated by the nuclear waste policy act amendments of 1987, is a proposed deep geological repository. Groundwater contamination associated with a potential nuclear. Nuclear regulatory commission something that is being and will. The decision to site yucca mountain as a waste repository was based on politics, not science. The yucca mountain nuclear waste repository, located on a piece of land adjoining the nevada test site in nye county, nevada, was designed to be a deep geological repository storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and other high level radioactive waste, as designated by the nuclear waste policy act amendments of 1987. Nuclear waste administration act by senator lisa murkowski of alaska h. Apr 26, 2017 power plants in 33 states store nearly 80,000 metric tons of radioactive waste. Congress has 90 legislative days, till july 25, to override governor kenny guinns veto. Nuclear waste storage president bushs recommendation to develop a nuclear waste repository at yucca mountain in nevada was the subject of a december 19, 2001. The yucca mountain nuclear waste dump, a political hot potato. The proposed action addressed in this final eis is to construct, operate and monitor, and eventually close a geologic repository at yucca mountain in southern nevada for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and highlevel radioactive waste currently in storage or. A site where highlevel radioactive waste is to be stored for a prolonged period of time.
Yucca mountain nuclear waste repository wikizilla, the. While this land has been occupied for thousands of years by the western shoshone and southern paiute indigenous peoples, it was recently the center of a controversy concerning the proposal for a largescale storage of mass amounts of nuclear waste. Yucca mountain nuclear waste repository, nevada bechtel. Yucca mountain nuclear waste repository washington state. Yucca mountain archival documents from the former office of civilian radioactive waste management. Yucca mountain and the proposed nuclear waste storage site. Department of energy proposes to do, is neither an urgent necessity nor a rational, longterm solution to the problem of. As one of the designated affected units of local government, eureka county maintains this website to keep citizens informed about the decisions concerning the potential transportation and disposal of nuclear waste at yucca mountain, nevada. Let us hope that the longneeded yucca mountain repository can proceed to completion. The candidate repository for nuclear waste at yucca mountain, usa fig. Congress has 90 legislative days, till july 25, to override governor. It cant just stand in the middle of the streets with us because it wouldnt be healthy for our population and as such, yucca mountain as been proposed as a potential site to bury the nuclear waste. Yucca mountain pros and cons aired in series of senate. The repository is located in a desert on federal land adjacent to the nevada test site in nye county, nevada, about 80 miles from the las vegas metropolitan area.
Air force secretary critical of nuclear waste routes to yucca. David howellscorbisgetty images geologist john hartley at the entrance to the yucca mountain nuclear waste repository in nevada. Originally the chalk mountain route would have run right through the air force testing site, and the nevada national security site. The site is located on federal land adjacent to the nevada test site in nye county, nevada, about 80 mi km. The presidents fiscal year 2011 budget proposal, released in february 2010, proposed eliminating all funding for the yucca mountain repository program and the doe office responsible for nuclear waste managementthe office of civilian. Will trump and perry revive proposed yucca mountain nuclear. If constructed, it would use a tunnel complex approximately feet below the top of yucca mountain and about feet above the aquifer underlying the repository. Yucca mountains characterization as a nuclear waste repository had received questions from the nuclear regulatory commission in comments on the 1988 u. Obtain consent of affected state and local governments by senators cortez masto and ms. Additional yucca mountain license applicationrelated documents are available through the nuclear regulatory commissions licensing support network web site. United states, showing approximate locations of surface storage sites for spent nuclear fuel snf from commercial reactors and for other highlevel waste hlw. Senate voted on an issue where the conditions for approval ostensibly required maintenancefree bliss for an eternity. Doe contractor staffs up to restart project licensing. Effects of a termination of the yucca mountain repository.
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