Secretary of Energy says that Yucca Mountain is not a workable option and the DOE terminates its efforts to obtain a license. It lies along the transition between the Mojave and the Great Basin Deserts. The Inside Story. Yucca plants extend beyond the borders of the United States, too. However, w… What authority does EPA have to set standards that protect public health and the environment at Yucca Mountain? When will the Yucca Mountain repository be operational? Yucca Mountain is located within the Western Shoshone Nation and has long been a place of powerful spiritual energy for the Shoshone and the Paiute. Argument: “Yucca Mountain is a scientifically sound site in which to dispose of spent nuclear fuel. Nuclear waste has a very negative impact … DOE's Yucca Mountain public internet database, the Licensing Support Network, is ruled complete. At present, Yucca Mountain is in the middle of a fairly dry piece of real estate where the annual rainfall is only a handful of inches annually. Federal Guidance for Radiation Protection. 2008 DOE submits its license application to the NRC for review. Yucca Mountain has turned into a political football and a litmus test for many politicians on the question of nuclear waste disposal. There is no link at all with any adjacent watershed and no connection of the deep ground water table to any river, lake or sea. The site was first researched, along with eight other sites, in response to Congressional direction in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency created by Congress. “Nevada continues to oppose any and all attempts to fund Yucca Mountain,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) told Nevada Current in an interview. The two are closely interdependent. 2. Atomic Testing Museum, Public Reading Room, Frank H. Rogers Building, 755 E. Flamingo Road, Suite 103, Las Vegas, NV 89119, (702) 794-5117. United States Environmental Protection Agency. There’s only one problem: The 1987 law specifically names Yucca Mountain as the U.S. site for the nation’s first nuclear waste dump. What is the EPA's role in the Yucca Mountain project? If the YMP were discontinued, economic losses, relative to the current economy, would be substantial. What is the EPA's role in the Yucca Mountain project? The basic idea of geologic disposal is to place carefully packaged radioactive materials in tunnels deep underground. Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem. The site is adjacent to the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, NV which is about 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas. A test tunnel was dug but never licensed. The future of the Yucca Mountain repository is uncertain. In fact, you will find various types of yucca plants in mixed environments of all kinds, including coastal scrub, mountain grassland, and even the desert! What are the characteristics of Yucca Mountain? For more information about the Yucca Mountain Project, visit the Department of Energy’s webpage. DISCLAIMER . transportation of the waste to it, Yucca Mountain would be just a very large, fancy, and expensive hole in a mountain.”…there can be no serious dispute that the NR ’s NEPA responsibilities do not end at the boundaries of the proposed repository, but rather extend to the transportation of nuclear waste to the repository. To the Western Shoshone it is Snake Mountain, a place with rock rings that transmit prayers to the Great Spirit and messages back to the people. Yucca Mountain was supposed to be a more permanent fix: a safe, remote location to bury the waste forever. YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA and Nuclear Waste! Situated some 90 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada Yucca Mountain is currently the only site that has been studied in detail for geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel and defense high-level waste. Yucca Mountain is a mountain in Nevada, near its border with California, approximately 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Las Vegas. … Current Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) operations provide relatively high-wage employment to the Nevada economy and constitute an economically stable proportion of the total gross state product (GSP). “Obviously, we have fought this battle for many decades and we will not give in or give up at this point.” At issue is the contentious question of what to do with the nuclear waste that is the byproduct of nuclear power plants. As developments in the Yucca Mountain project are released, this information may change; the EPA will continue to update the Frequent Questions about Radiation Protection with new information. The license application is available to the public in hard copy at the following locations: Beatty Library District, 4th Street and Ward, Beatty, NV 89003, (775) 553-2257. To achieve this, the Yucca Mountain repository would utilize a mixture of natural and engineered barriers to isolate the waste from the surrounding environment. Today's Press News. The current solution is Yucca Mountain, since the government already owns the land and it is in a contained area, even if the waste leaks it is very unlikely that it will end up leaking to the oceans. The decision to site Yucca Mountain as a waste repository was based on politics, not science. Located at the edge of the Nevada National Security Site (formerly the Nevada Test Site)—part of a nuclear testing ground established by U.S. President Harry Truman—Yucca Mountain is far from any population centers, has a very dry climate, and is protected by an Air Force range on three sides. At the time there was little opposition to the Yucca Mountain project but that would soon change with the Senate race that year. He told the Nuclear Waste Technical Advisory Board in June that DOE is shifting its focus to engineering solutions rather than further scientific study of the natural system at the mountain 120 miles northeast of Las Vegas just inside the Nevada Test Site. The Yucca Mountain Repository is a proposed Department of Energy (DOE) site that would be the United States’ first geologic repository for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. What authority does EPA have to set standards that protect public health and the environment at Yucca Mountain? Yucca Mountain is located in Nevada, about an hour northwest of Las Vegas. It is the site of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, which is currently identified by Congressional law as the nation's spent nuclear waste storage facility. OSTI.GOV Technical Report: Conceptual operations report for a repository at the Yucca Mountain site There is a: natural moisture content of about 8-10% in the layers of predominantly welded volcanic tuff … However, all of this land is part of the Western Shoshone traditional homelands. Yucca Mountain in southern Nevada is more a ridge than a mountain. It is common sense, and sound science, to site and build a … In 1987, Congress decided to narrow the field solely to … To achieve this, the Yucca Mountain repository would utilize a mixture of natural and engineered barriers to isolate the waste from the surrounding environment. An official website of the United States government. It is statutorily limited to containing 70,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste, unless a second repository opens during its operational lifetime. Federal Guidance for Radiation Protection. An official website of the United States government. If a dump is built at Yucca Mountain, the Shoshone … Yucca Mountain has spent much of its existence as a political football. If constructed, it would use a tunnel complex approximately 1000 feet below the top of Yucca Mountain and about 1000 feet above the aquifer underlying the repository. The result: gridlock. A test tunnel was dug but never licensed. It is statutorily limited to containing 70,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste, unless a second repository opens during its operational lifetime. Which federal agencies have a role at Yucca Mountain? Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem. By 1986 it was clear that work on three sites would … Which federal agencies have a role at Yucca Mountain? He said DOE is … That’s why it was chosen.” Counter: Yucca Mountain is not a scientifically sound solution for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The future of the Yucca Mountain repository is uncertain. The site was first researched, along with eight other sites, in response to Congressional direction in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. In the years following, various actions have halted the development and licensing of the site; at the current time, there is no licensing activity underway. However, the Department of Energy is not currently pursuing a license. The formation that makes up Yucca Mountain was created by several large eruptions from a caldera volcano and is composed of alternating layers of ignimbrite (welded tuff), non-welded tuff, and semi-welded tuff. In 1987, Congress decided to narrow the field solely to Yucca Mountain, and since then, the Department of Energy has focused its studies on the Yucca Mountain site. The EPA has set environmental standards to protect public health and the environment from radioactive material in the repository; in order to become … It’s about a hundred miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas. "At Yucca Mountain, rain fall at the top of the ridge is about 7.54 inches/year and the hydrological basin of the valley is completely contained. The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository is a deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel and highly radioactive waste products generated in the United States. Unlike agave, yucca isn’t resigned to a certain ecosystem. DOE abandons 2017 opening date for Yucca Mountain, estimating that the facility will not be operational until 2020 at the earliest. This report was prepared as an … Three sites of the original nine were selected for further study in 1986. Located in the Great Basin, Yucca Mountain is east of the Amargosa Desert, south of the Nevada Test and Training Range and in the Nevada National Security Site. Assembly Joint Resolution 4, urged Congress not to allow a … Yucca Mountain Repository Concept of Operations . The Nevada Legislature passed two resolutions expressing adamant opposition to the repository coming to Yucca Mountain. Key to Yucca Mountain… Congress designated Yucca Mountain as the location for a national permanent nuclear waste repository back in 1987. But climate changes over time – the Sahara was a fairly lush grassland within the last few tens of thousands of years – so we can’t guarantee that the current dry conditions will last until all of the radioactivity is gone. Prepared for: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management 1551 Hillshire Drive Las Vegas, Nevada 89134-6321 Prepared by: Bechtel SAIC Company, LLC 1180 Town Center Drive Las Vegas, Nevada 89144 Under Contract Number DE-AC28-01 RW12101 . If Yucca were to open, some fear transporting nuclear waste through metropolitan areas on the way to the mountain, just 90 miles from Las Vegas, is courting disaster. It is in the desert, and the land it occupies includes public land, Nevada Test Site land, and Nellis Air Force Base land. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must determine whether the performance of the Yucca Mountain facility complies with the standards set by the EPA, in order to grant the operator of the facility a license (the Department of Energy). There are ten (10) designated Affected Units of Local Governments (AULG's) in relative proximity to Yucca Mountain. Presentation Outline • Site facilities and infrastructure description • Background/history • Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) facilities current condition … In the decades since Congress selected Yucca Mountain to hold the nation's nuclear waste, efforts to block the project have become a bipartisan rallying … Yucca Mountain Site Operations Update Presented to: Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board Presented by: Scott A. Return to Frequent Questions about Radiation Protection. Total costs for this facility have been estimated to be as … DOE's Yucca Mountain Project director Lake Barrett says that means "if possible," rather than "no matter what." The tuff surrounding the burial sites is expected to protect human health as it provides a natural barrier to the radiation. It Isn’t In a Widely Populated Area Since we dealing with nuclear waste, we want to keep it as far away from our populations as possible. Approval for the project came from the 107th U.S. Congress in 2002, but federal … Wade Acting Director, Yucca Mountain Site Operations Office January 24, 2007 Las Vegas, NV . United States Environmental Protection Agency, Frequent Questions about Radiation Protection. Return to Frequent Questions about Radiation Protection. The original Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 required detailed characterization of three potential repository sites for the disposal of the nation’s spent commercial nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from the nuclear weapons complex. Legally, there is no other option. 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. Its mission is to regulate the nation’s civilian use of radioactive materials in a way that protects public health and safety and the environment. In 2000, the YMP contributed $195.7 million to the Nevada economy and … Without … The Yucca Mountain repository is the proposed spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repository where both types of radioactive waste could be disposed. Because Yucca Mountain is located in one of the driest areas in the United States, and the bedrock is composed of highly stable volcanic tuff (compacted ash), the DOE hopes that storage areas will remain intact and free of leaks for the thousands of years it will take for the wastes to decay to a harmless state. 1:00 AM January 1, 1989 Opposition in the Legislarure. The late Shoshone spiritual leader Corbin Harney told a traditional story that Snake Mountain … Three sites of the original nine were selected for further study in 1986. Be operational until 2020 at the earliest resolutions expressing adamant Opposition to the economy. Is a scientifically sound site in which to dispose of spent nuclear fuel Las... 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