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Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository

Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository. By Tom Lee. Location. Yucca Mountain. Functions of the Repository.

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Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository

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  1. Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository By Tom Lee

  2. Location

  3. Yucca Mountain

  4. Functions of the Repository • It is supposed to store over 70,000 metric tons (150 million pounds) of nuclear and radioactive waste. The waste is currently stored in over 120 sites over the country. In 2007, the Department of Energy announced its intent to double the size of Yucca Mountain Repository, storing up to 135,000 metric tons of waste. • Wastes that raise the most concern are • Uranium-235 with half-life of 700 million years • Long-lived fission products: • Technetium-99 with half-life of 220,000 years • Iodine-129 with half-life of 17 million years • Atomic number greater than 92 • Neptunium-237 with half-life of two million years • Plutonium-239 with half life of 24,000 years

  5. Background • Nuclear waste must be disposed of safely because they emit high-energy radiation that kills cells, causes cancers and genetic mutations, and causes death to individual exposed to large doses. • The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 requires the Department of Energy to locate a fail-safe underground disposal facility. The Department of Energy designated 9 potential sites and President Reagan approved 3 for further scientific study. • In December, 1987, the act was amended to assign Yucca Mountain, Nevada as the only potential permanent repository. The Department of Energy was directed to only study this site, and the investment was estimated to be $1~2billions at the time. • In 2002, the Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham, recommended Yucca Mountain to President Bush, which he approves. The state of Nevada vetoed the decision in April, 2002 but was overridden by the House and the Senate.

  6. Why Yucca Mountain • Yucca Mountain has several layers of tuff, some welded. Welded tuff is believed to be suitable for entombing nuclear waste since it has very low porosity and permeability • The storage area is 1000ft (300m) above the water table and more than 650ft below ground surface • Tectonic deformation is too slow to affect the repository during the 10000 regulatory compliance period • Rise in water table caused by tectonic activity is unlikely to reach the repository • Characteristics of rock should not be changed by seismic events • The eruptions that created Yucca Mountain occurred 12 million years ago, and the last eruption was 80000 years ago.

  7. Why not Yucca Mountain • Strong opposition from the State of Nevada stating that Nevada has no nuclear power plants • Water travels from the surface through fracture to the underground water tunnel and can do so in less than 50 years, a lot faster than initially believed • Future climate cannot be predicted to 10000 years • Bow Ridge fault line is right below the repository, contrary to the belief that it is hundreds of feet west of the repository

  8. Current Situation The Obama Administration has restricted the budget “to answer inquiries from the Nuclear regulatory Commission.” On Thursday March 5th, 2009, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu stated that the Yucca Mountain is no longer an option for nuclear waste storage. He further commented that the over 60000 tons of nuclear waste can remain in nuclear plants, while a new plan is developed. McCain commented that the plan gives no assurance on waste management. The budget has cut down from $288 million to $197 million last year. The Obama Administration proposes to dissolve the Office of Civilian Waste Management which was established in 1982 under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.

  9. Consequence • Leave the country without a solution to nuclear waste management • Waste the $10.4 billions that was spent since 1983 • Tens of Billions of dollars are predicted to be spent in damage suits to store waste • $22 billion that the nuclear industry paid to the Energy Department will have to be returned • Nuclear Industry will not be able to build new plants

  10. Bibliography http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Nuclear_waste_locations_USA.jpg http://www.whitehouse.gov/ http://www.chicagotribune.com/ http://www.nytimes.com/ http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/ http://www.jstor.org/stable/1311766 http://www.nrc.gov/ http://www.enviroliteracy.org/

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