My Side of the Mountain

DOE applies to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain 2

The U.S. Department of Energy has filed a formal application to construct a nuclear-waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. The application, which runs tens of thousands of pages, attempts to prove that 77,000 tons of nuclear waste could be stored at Yucca Mountain without harming public health, safety, and the environment for up to a million years. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have three to four years to decide if it's convinced. President Bush gave his blessing to Yucca Mountain six years ago, and more than $6 billion has already been spent on research and engineering. But the much-delayed project has encountered strong public opposition; the state of Nevada plans to file as many as 500 contentions against the application. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both said they would withdraw the application if elected president; Sen. John McCain has said he would move forward with it.

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  1. Orfintain Posted 7:51 am
    03 Jun 2008

    On Polotics and ReasonPeople tend the view the yucca mountain project in on of two ways
    1)As a way to argue their view for or against nuclear energy
    This project is not a green light for building lots more nuclear power plants.
    Yucca mountain is is about what do with the stockpiles of nuclear waste we have scattered about the country today
    2)The not in my backyard position

    The proximity of nuclear waste to people would be greatly reduced when moved to yucca mountain and away from power plants that are in rural areas in some cases.
    The nuclear waste we have created is never going to "go-away" yucca mountain is the most safe realistic solution the problem.

  2. Wolverine Posted 5:21 pm
    04 Jun 2008

    Leave Nuclear Waste Where It IsThe only reason some people want to find a place to put all the U.S. nuclear waste is to help out the nuclear industry, which is the main proponent of finding a repository and of promoting Yucca Mountain.  Aside from putting the waste in the homes of everyone who profits from and/or supports nuclear power, leaving it in the power plants is the best option.  Eventually, they'll become so choked with their own waste they'll have to shut down.

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