By letter dated June 3, 2008, the DOE tendered to the NRC an application seeking authorization to construct a facility to dispose of high-level radioactive waste (including spent or used nuclear fuel) in Yucca Mountain, Nevada, about ninety miles north of Las Vegas... The docketing of the application and the publication of the Notice of Hearing marked the beginning of one of the most complex, if not the most complex, licensing proceeding in NRC's history. The application sought approval to construct the first geologic repository in the United States. The application itself numbered about 8,600 pages and included over 100,000 pages of reference documents, which were supported further by millions of pages of studies, reports, and related materials...
The most important part of the application, a "Total System Performance Assessment" ("TSPA"), evaluated the ability of the repository to prevent or limit releases of radioactive materials to the environment over the next one million years - so-called "post closure safety." The TSPA consisted of hundreds of linked mathematical models purporting to predict for Yucca Mountain (1) the future patterns of climate change, (2) the future spatial and temporal distributions of precipitation, (3) the future infiltration of water below the mountain surface, (4) the future erosion of the mountain, (5) the future flow of water through the upper part of the unsaturated zone, above the tunnels in the mountain where the wastes were to be emplaced, (6) the future geochemistry of the unsaturated zone, (7) the future magnitude of seepage of water into the tunnels, (8) the future geochemistry of the waters and deposits in the tunnels, (9) the future corrosion of the drip shields and waste packages, (10) the future dissolution of the wastes from liquids entering into corroded waste packages, (11) the future movement of the wastes below the tunnels through the lower unsaturated zone and saturated zone, (12) the probabilities and effects of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and (13) the nature and magnitude of future radioactive releases and doses.
... Twelve petitions to intervene in the adjudicatory proceeding were filed in response to the Notice of Hearing... Three hundred and seventeen contentions were filed and almost all were admitted as presenting sufficient facts and expert opinions to create a genuine issue. The petitions and contentions, answers to petitions and contentions, replies to answers, and rulings thereon comprise over 12,000 pages... Nevada was admitted as a party opposing the application with over two hundred admitted contentions. Nye County was also admitted as a party, but with only five admitted contentions.
By March 3, 2010, when DOE moved to withdraw its application, ... 103 expert witnesses [had been identified] for deposition, just for the first phase of the proceeding (primarily addressing post-closure (disposal) safety)... The experts' fields of expertise reflected the complexity of the TSPA, and the deposition list included experts in climate change, hydrology, geochemistry, corrosion, waste transport, radioactive dose calculations, volcanism, and performance assessment...
[Source: The State of Nevada, "Preliminary Brief of Intervenor", January 18, 2012 filing with U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit]
Las Vegas Review-Journal has a nice Yucca Mountain page
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Newt Gingrich's thoughts on Yucca Mountain
What asked about the future of Yucca Mountain as a repository for nuclear waste from the Savannah River Site and other locations, Gingrich said that South Carolina residents should get an electric bill rebate for the hundreds of millions poured into that project, now off the table following White House action.
"New technology could make Yucca Mountain irrelevant," said Gingrich, "but there may be a way it could work. Still, the leading newspaper in (Nevada) is deeply opposed, and it would take an educational process. The state has to be willing to accept it."
Source: Rob Novit, " Newt Gingrich makes stop in Warrenville", Aiken Standard, January 19, 2012
Mitt Romney's 'states rights' approach to Yucca Mountain and HLW
Q: What is your opinion of the Yucca Mountain nuclear disposal site in Nevada?
Romney: "I think the people in Nevada should be given an offer with a financial incentive to take the nuclear waste, and if they reject that offer, I think other states can propose an offer of what they would be willing to take, based upon a certain compensation level. And if no one is willing to take the waste, then certainly those states that have been required over the years to put money into this effort should have a refund provided to them. So South Carolina would get their money back, but I think we're wiser to collect the waste in one site than have it in multiple sites, if that's feasible."
Source: Q&A with Mitt Romney, Charleston (SC) Post and Courier, January 18, 2012
* [n-waste-Yucca Mountain-Romney] SC gov says Romney promised to bid out Yucca, Jon Ralston, Las Vegas SUN (via Nevada ANP)
* [n-waste-Yucca Mountain] Reps. give overview of legislative session, Rob Novit, Aiken Standard
* [Yucca Mountain-NRC] MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: Timbisha Shoshone Tribal Council's (Tribal Council) petition for review, NRC Commission (via Nevada ANP)
* [Yucca Mountain] Energy's 10 big questions for 2012(#8) Is there a future for Yucca Mountain?, Politico (via Nevada ANP)
* [Yucca Mountain-Reid beats back House again on budget] Over the hill, Ashley Hennefer, Reno News & Review (via Nevada ANP)
* [site-Yucca] Sun Youth Forum: Perspectives can be changed when people work together on the issues, Elizabeth Charles, Las Vegas SUN (via Nevada ANP)
See older Yucca Mountain news