[ RadSafe ] U.S. Nuclear Waste Dump to Open in 2017

[Garner, William H]

U.S. Nuclear Waste Dump to Open in 2017

The U.S. Energy Department plans to open its Yucca Mountain nuclear
waste dump in Nevada on March 31, 2017, the Associated Press reported
today (see GSN
<http://www.nti.org/d%5Fnewswire/issues/2006/4/3/0674a0ab%2D62a0%2D4d09%
2Db762%2Da3f8bc15ff43.html> , April 3).
The date - made public by congressional offices yesterday ahead of an
expected DOE announcement today - is the first official date for
operations produced in some time, AP reported.
The new timeline calls for the department to apply for a Nuclear
Regulatory Commission license on June 30, 2008, receive construction
authorization on Sept. 30, 2011, and complete construction on March 30,
2016. The dump would then be able to accept nuclear waste on March 31,
2017.
"Our work will continue to based on sound science ... The program now
has reachable, definable target dates that will allow us to open Yucca
Mountain as the nation's repository for spent nuclear fuel," Energy
Department spokesman Craig Stevens said in a statement.
"This is an ambitious schedule, but it's nice to actually see a
schedule. This is the most detailed schedule on Yucca Mountain that I
have seen in recent memory," said Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete
Domenici (R-N.M.).
More than 50,000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste from power
plants in 31 states is awaiting permanent storage, AP reported. The
government is presently unable to meet its contractual obligation to
take and store the waste.
Nevada lawmakers have joined in opposition to the Yucca plan.
"This timetable is a rosy scenario painted to please those desperate to
see Yucca Mountain open for business," said Representative Shelley
Berkley (D-Nev.). "The proposed nuclear garbage dump at Yucca Mountain
still faces serious obstacles before it can be licensed, including
additional legal challenges from the state of Nevada" (Erica Werner,
Associated Press/The Guardian
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5959754,00.html> , July
19).



William H. Garner
University Of Kentucky
Radiation Safety Department
223 Dimock Animal Pathology
Lexington, KY  40506-0076
Office Phone (859)323-1008
Cell Phone (859)967-4296
Fax   (859)323-4752