Yucca Mountain project clears another hurdle

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced the other day that it will conduct an in-depth review of the government plans for Yucca Mountain, another step forward for the controversial nuclear waste storage project. The decision by the nuclear safety agency to place a Department of Energy (DOE) license application on its docket represents a milestone for the project over the objections of Nevada’s elected leaders.

Las Vegas Review Journal’s Steve Tetreault writes that the NRC concluded following an initial 90-day screening by its technical staff that an application that DOE filed on 3 June “is sufficiently complete” for the agency to move forward, according to its announcement. The move opens the way for detailed safety studies that will be performed by NRC technical staff, and for legal hearings before panels of administrative judges where Nevada and other parties would be able to raise objections.

The process will result in a decision whether to grant a license for the repository to be built. The decision was announced shortly after the NRC notified members of Congress. Those from Nevada were not happy although they were not altogether surprised. “The NRC’s decision puts nuclear politics over the health and safety of Nevada families and you can bet that we will continue fighting the Bush-McCain Yucca Mountain plan,” said Representative Shelley Berkley (D-Nevada).

The licensing process will likely take three to four years. Many officials believe it could take years longer for the NRC to sort through a project that is the first of its kind. Following construction the agency would consider a second application for DOE to begin receiving waste at the site.

DOE proposes to build a warren of tunnels beneath Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, where 77,000 tons of used nuclear fuel and highly radioactive material from U.S. weapons manufacturing would be stored and eventually sealed within the mountain. An above-ground waste handling complex also would be constructed where canisters of waste would arrive, mostly by rail, from sites in thirty-nine states.

The repository plan is opposed by a majority of Nevadans. State leaders have committed millions of dollars to fight at the NRC and in courts. The presidential nominees are split. Democratic Barack Obama has said he will stop the project if he is elected. Republican John McCain said he would support it if it can meet “environmental requirements.”