History of Yucca Mountain:
History Of The Nuclear Waste Program
In 1982, Congress established a national policy to solve the problem of nuclear waste disposal.This policy is a federal law called the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Congress based this policy on what most scientists worldwide agreed is the best way to dispose of nuclear waste.
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act made the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for finding a site, building, and operating an underground disposal facility called a geologic repository.
On July 10, 2009, the NRC Staff responded to the NRC's Licensing Hearing Board’s July 2, 2009 order concerning scheduling. The Staff stated that it will not be able to issue its Safety Evaluation Report (SER) in accordance with the schedule in 10 C.F.R. Part 2, Appendix D. Rather, at present, the Staff intends to issue the SER serially. The Staff estimates that the SER will be issued as follows:
Sites Considered
In 1983, the U.S. Department of Energy selected nine locations in six states for consideration as potential repository sites. This was based on data collected for nearly 10 years. The nine sites were studied and results of these preliminary studies were reported in 1985.
Based on these reports, the president approved three sites for intensive scientific study called site characterization. The three sites were Hanford, Washington; Deaf Smith County, Texas; and Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
In 1987, Congress amended the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and directed U.S. Department of Energy to study only Yucca Mountain.
On July 9, 2002, the U.S. Senate cast the final legislative vote approving the development of a repository at Yucca Mountain.
On July 23, 2002, President Bush signed House Joint Resolution 87, allowing the DOE to take the next step in establishing a safe repository in which to store our nation's nuclear waste.
On June 3, 2008, the DOE submitted a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking authorization to build the repository.
The Yucca Mountain Project is currently focused on the NRC's licensing proceedings.
The future of Yucca Mountain:
On March 5th, 2010 Department of Energy (DoE) filed a motion with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to withdraw the application to build and operate Yucca Mountain.
About one year ago President Barack Obama cut all funding for the DoE's work towards realizing Yucca Mountain apart from answering questions from the NRC related to the license application. However, "President Obama is fully committed to ensuring that the nation meets our long-term storage obligations for nuclear waste," said Scott Blake Harris of the DoE. The route for this is to be the 15-member Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, nominated last month (Feb 2010). It is to evaluate fuel-cycle and disposal options, including the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel, but will not touch on any siting concerns. Work for the group begins with its first meeting on 25-26 March and will continue until 2012.
What's happening with Yucca Mountain? Timeline 2010 Updated
June 30: Ruling keeps Yucca Mountain alive
"We conclude that Congress directed both that DOE file the application, and that the NRC consider the application and issue a final merits-based decision," the judges said. "Unless Congress directs otherwise, DOE may not single-handedly derail the legislated decision-making process by withdrawing the application."
Yucca Mountain is located in a remote desert on federally protected land within the secure boundaries of the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada. It is approximately 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
There is a worldwide consensus that deep geologic disposal, the approach being followed
by the United States, is the only scientifically credible, long-term solution for managing high level radioactive waste. For more than 20 years, many of our nation’s top scientists and engineers have studied Yucca Mountain in Nevada to determine if this arid site would be a suitable location for development of the nation’s first repository for the geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste. They have concluded that a repository at Yucca Mountain would protect public health and safety; preserve the quality of the environment; allow the environmental cleanup of Cold War weapons facilities; protect the nation from acts of terrorism; and support a sound energy policy.Site Characterization Process
The Department of Energy's (DOE's) 1988 Site Characterization Plan for Yucca Mountain established the initial basis for the many engineering and scientific investigations of the site. It has been conducting site characterization to gather enough information about the Yucca Mountain site to evaluate the waste isolation capabilities. In 1991, the State of Nevada granted the DOE the permits necessary to proceed with certain site characterization activities. These activities included excavating test pits and trenches, drilling bore holes, and monitoring ground water.
In September 1994, the DOE began excavation of the exploratory studies facility using a tunnel boring machine. The initial design called for a continuous tunnel 7.6 meters (25 feet) in diameter. The tunnel was completed in April 1997. The tunnel begins at the North Portal and extends to the northwest approximately 2000 meters (1.24 miles). The tunnel then transitions into an approximately 60 degree turn to the south. The section from the North Portal to the 60 degree turn is known as the North Ramp. The turn from the North Ramp leads to a main tunnel 300 meters (984 feet) below the surface. The main tunnel has a north-south alignment and extends south approximately 3000 meters (1.86 miles). The main tunnel ends in a 90 degree turn. From this turn the tunnel travels east about 1300 meters (0.8 miles) and emerges at the South Portal. The tunnel machine has bored through a series of geologic features including a structural feature known as the Bow Ridge Fault. Within the tunnel are seven testing alcoves and four test niches that are being used to investigate the hydrologic, hydrochemical, and thermomechanical properties of the rocks underlying Yucca Mountain.
In December 1997, the DOE began excavation of a smaller exploratory tunnel (5.5 meters/18 feet) across the main tunnel. This smaller tunnel is known as the "east-west" or cross drift and runs almost perpendicular to the North Ramp. The crossdrift begins to the west of the Bow Ridge Fault and crosses over and above the north-south main tunnel. It is about 2600 meters (1.6 miles) long and ends near the Solitario Canyon Fault. The cross drift will also contain instrumentation for scientific tests and should provide additional data on the sub-surface geology of Yucca Mountain to the west of the main tunnel. The layout of both the Exploratory Studies Facility and the Cross Drift can be viewed.
The State's Position:
The State of Nevada leaders believe the current high-level nuclear waste dump program is fatally flawed, and because of this have found it necessary to oppose the use of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository for a variety of reasons:
- Much evidence shows that Yucca Mountain is not safe for nuclear waste disposal in that it is geologically and hydrologically active and complex.
- Radioactive substances could leak from the dump and create serious long-term health risks to the citizens of Nevada.
- Large-scale radioactive releases could occur through a variety of possible scenarios caused by volcanos, earthquakes or hydrothermal activity at Yucca Mountain.
- Accidents happen. Nuclear waste transportation could result in accidents harmful to Nevada's and the nation's citizens and seriously hurt Nevada's image as an attractive place to visit, live, or locate a business.
- There are no back-up or alternative sites being evaluated along with Yucca Mountain; thus, there are no other sites for comparison.
- It is unrealistic to expect DOE to spend $6.5 to $8 billion "characterizing" Yucca Mountain and then simply walk away after serious flaws are found. Besides, State leaders are convinced that the DOE is attempting to build a dump rather than merely "studying" the site, as it claims.
Doing nothing is not an option:
The United States currently has about 47,500 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel (45,000 from commercial power reactors and 2,500 from defense reactors). In addition, DOE is currently processing over 100 million gallons of liquid high-level radioactive waste from defense activities and stabilizing it into borosilicate glass. By 2040 this nation could generate almost 108,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and more than 22,000 canisters of high-level radioactive waste glass. This waste must be properly managed to prevent adverse impacts to the health and safety of millions of Americans and to the environment.
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