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Yucca Mountain is east of the Armargosa Desert, south of the Nevada Test
and Training Range and in the Nevada National Security Site. The DOE
began studying Yucca Mountain in 1978 to determine whether it would be
suitable for the nation's first long-term geologic repository for over 70,000
metric tons (69,000 long tons; 77,000 short tons) (150 million pounds) of
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste currently stored at 121
sites around the nation. An estimated 10,000 metric tons (9,800 long tons;
11,000 short tons) of the waste would be from America's military nuclear
programs.[8] On December 19, 1984, the DOE selected ten locations in six
states for consideration as potential repository sites, based on data
collected for nearly ten years. Since the early 1960s, the U.S. has safely
conducted more than 3,000 shipments of spent nuclear fuel without any
harmful release of radioactive material. This safety record is comparable
to the worldwide experience where more than 70,000 metric tons of spent
nuclear fuel have been transported since 1970 an amount approximately
equal to the total amount of spent nuclear fuel that would have been
shipped to Yucca Mountain
Introduction:
Yucca Mountain is a mountain in Nevada, near its border with California,
approximately 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Las Vegas. Located in
the Great Basin, Yucca Mountain is east of the Armargosa Desert, south of
the Nevada Test and Training Range and in the Nevada National Security
Site. It is the site of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, which is
currently identified by Congressional law as the nation's spent nuclear
waste storage facility. However, while licensure of the site through
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is ongoing, political maneuvering led
to the site being de-funded in 2010.
0.24 mrem/year and that thereafter to 1,000,000 years, the median public
dose would be 0.98 mrem/year, both of which are substantially below the
proposed EPA limit. For comparison, hip x-ray results in a dose around 83
mrem and a CT head or chest scan results in around 1,110 mrem.
[34]
Annually, in the United States, an individual's doses from background
radiation is about 350 mrem, although some places get more than twice
that.[35][36][37]
On February 12, 2002, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham made
the decision that this site was suitable to be the nation's nuclear
repository.[38]The governor of Nevada had 90 days to object and did so.
However, the United States Congress overrode the objection. If the
governor's objection had stood the project would have been abandoned
and a new site chosen. In August 2004, the repository became
an election issue, when Senator John Kerry (D) said that he would abandon
the plans if elected.
In March 2005, the Energy and Interior departments revealed that several
U.S. Geological Survey hydrologists had exchanged e-mails discussing
possible falsification of quality assurance documents on water
infiltration research.[39] On February 17, 2006, the DOEs Office of Civilian
Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) released a report confirming
the technical soundness of infiltration modeling work performed by U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) employees.[39] In March 2006, the U.S. Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works Majority Staff issued a 25page white paper "Yucca Mountain: The Most Studied Real Estate on the
Planet." The conclusions were:[39]