In a recent editorial, the Chicago Tribune argues it’s time to move beyond the political roadblocks and open Yucca Mountain, particularly in light of the release of NRC’s critical safety report confirming that this long-term nuclear waste repository would be safe and environmentally sound. Upon the release of this report, Environment and the Economy Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL) said, "Yucca Mountain is one of the most studied geological formations on the planet and today’s report confirms what we’ve expected all along: nuclear waste stored under that mountain, in that desert, surrounded by federal land will be safe and secure for at least a million years." With Yucca’s safety confirmed, the Tribune asserts, "The repository should be fast-tracked to remove the nuclear waste near communities scattered across the U.S."

October 31, 2014

Harry Reid Vs. Yucca Mountain

In 2010, President Barack Obama scrapped plans to turn Yucca Mountain into a nuclear waste repository, generally citing safety concerns. In truth, the president had Harry Reid concerns. The Senate majority leader from Nevada didn't want the nation's nuclear waste stored in his state.

As a result, federal officials suspended a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission study of Yucca's safety that was almost complete.

A legal challenge, though, forced the feds to finish that study. And now we know why Barack Obama and Harry Reid wanted to stop it. The study has just been released, and it confirms that the Yucca Mountain project would be environmentally safe.

The 781-page report concludes that the repository's multiple barriers would effectively keep radioactivity from escaping into the surrounding air and contaminating groundwater. It found that Yucca meets standards for protecting the health of people who live nearby. The design also would effectively prevent intruders from reaching the stored nuclear waste. ….

The NRC will produce three more Yucca safety volumes in the next several months. But the conclusion already is rock solid: Yucca's storage caverns — 1,000 feet below the surface and 1,000 feet above the water table in the Nevada desert — are safe. They are geologically stable.

Existing storage facilities around the country are considered safe, but they're not designed to hold spent fuel for thousands of years. Yucca is. The repository should be fast-tracked to remove the nuclear waste near communities scattered across the U.S.

The political decision to mothball Yucca Mountain costs taxpayers loads of money. The U.S. Department of Energy estimated last year that the government has paid about $3.7 billion in damages to utilities that have had to store their waste on-site. Another $21.4 billion will be owed in the next few years, even if the DOE begins taking nuclear fuel in 2021, the Nuclear Energy Institute reports.

Yucca Mountain would be a safe and effective storage site for nuclear waste. Opening it might be bad for Harry Reid, but it would be good for the nation. Mr. President, who comes first?

Read the editorial online HERE.

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