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Yucca Mountain timeline



fyi

background info.

norm



> RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL 1/11/2002

>

> http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2002/01/11/5740.php

>

> 1946: Atomic Energy Act establishes a federal monopoly over the use,

> control, and ownership of nuclear technology.

>

> 1955: The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission asks the National Academy of

> Sciences to study disposal methods for radioactive wastes from nuclear

> weapons production in the United States. (AEC was disbanded in 1974, and

> some of its functions eventually became the responsibility of the Department

> of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental

> Protection Agency.)

>

> 1957: An NAS report to the AEC recommends that transuranic and high-level

> radioactive wastes be buried in geologic formations and that the feasibility

> of using salt beds or salt domes as a disposal medium be investigated.

>

> 1964: Congress amends Atomic Energy Act to allow private ownership of

> nuclear materials (i.e., fuel) but maintains certain controls over its

> possession and use in the interest of public health and safety—including the

> obligation for disposal.

>

> 1970: The AEC tentatively selects a nuclear waste repository site in salt

> deposits near Lyons, Kan.

>

> 1972: The federal government withdraws the Lyons, Kan., site from

> consideration for the repository because of concerns that drilling in the

> vicinity might have compromised the salt deposits’ geologic integrity.

>

> 1974: The Energy Reorganization Act specifically charges the Energy Research

> and Development Agency (forerunner of DOE) with the responsibility to

> construct and operate a facility for disposal of civilian high-level nuclear

> waste.

>

> 1981: After extensively evaluating numerous alternatives, DOE issues a

> Record of Decision opting for geologic disposal of civilian high-level

> waste.

>

> 1982: The Nuclear Waste Policy Act directs DOE to begin disposing of used

> nuclear fuel in a geologic repository by Jan. 31, 1998, and prescribes a

> process for selecting a disposal site.

>

> 1983: DOE selects nine sites in six states for study as potential sites for

> a first repository. In accordance with the NWPA, DOE identifies sites in 17

> eastern states as potential location for a second repository.

>

> 1986: The energy secretary nominates five of the nine sites for further

> consideration, and the president approves three sites (Hanford, Washington;

> Deaf Smith County, Texas; and Yucca Mountain, Nev.) for further study.

>

> 1987: The Nuclear Waste Policy Act is amended to direct DOE to study only

> Yucca Mountain as a potential repository for geologic disposal.

>

> 1992: The Energy Policy Act is enacted, requiring the EPA to develop

> site-specific public health and safety standards for Yucca Mountain.

>

> 1997: The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act directs that by

> Sept. 30, 1998, the energy secretary must provide to the president and

> Congress a Yucca Mountain Viability Assessment.

>

> 1998: The federal government defaults on its obligation to begin removing

> used nuclear fuel from reactor sites by Jan. 31, 1998. DOE issues its

> Viability Assessment (VA) of Yucca Mountain, drawing upon two decades of

> scientific research to conclude that a geologic repository capable of

> protecting public health and safety for thousands of years can be designed

> and built at Yucca Mountain. The VA also publishes DOE’s schedule for moving

> forward with such a repository.

>

> 1999: NRC and EPA proposes regulations for the licensing of Yucca Mountain,

> should it be selected. DOE issues its Draft Environmental Impact Statement

> of Yucca Mountain, concluding that the proposed project would have

> essentially no adverse impact on public health and safety. (Radiation levels

> for 10,000 years would be well below EPA & NRC’s proposed limits and less

> than 1 percent of natural background in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain.)

>

> 2001: DOE releases its Science and Engineering report for Yucca Mountain,

> providing updated scientific results, describing an enhanced design, and

> opening the public comment period preceding a site recommendation decision.

>

> 2001: DOE releases its Preliminary Site Suitability Report, comparing its

> scientific results to site selection criteria and concluding that the

> proposed repository will be capable of meeting EPA's stringent Radiation

> Protection Standard. This report ends DOE's 20-year, $7 billion scientific

> site characterization program.

>

> 2002: DOE makes its final Site Recommendation on Yucca Mountain. Should DOE

> recommend the site, the president would decide whether to go forward. Should

> the State of Nevada object to the president’s decision, Congress then must

> also approve the site for it to move forward.

>

> 2003: DOE is scheduled to apply to NRC for a license to construct and

> operate a repository at Yucca Mountain.

>

> 2007: Expected date that NRC would issue a license for construction of a

> repository at Yucca Mountain, if regulatory requirements for public health

> and safety protection are satisfied.

>

> 2010: Expected date that DOE would complete construction of a repository and

> that NRC would license its operation, if regulatory requirements for public

> health and safety protection are satisfied.

>

> 2060 to 2300: DOE expected to apply to the NRC for a license to close the

> repository, if all requirements for assuring public health and safety for

> thousands of years into the future are met, NRC would issue a license

> allowing the repository to be closed. This would be the final decision on

> geologic disposal of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

>

> Sources: Nuclear Energy Institute, National Safety Council, Environmental

> Health Center

>

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> RELATED WEB SITES:

> Yucca Mountain Draft Environmental Impact Statement

> http://www.unlv.edu/Colleges/Liberal_Arts/Ethics_and_Policy/yucca.html

>

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