The Real Facts on Yucca

Things Every Nevadan Should
Know About Yucca Mountain

Yucca is not “dead.”   Despite what our elected leaders say, the law of the land (the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, NWPA) still says that the US Department of Energy has a legal obligation to take and dispose of the used nuclear fuel and waste accumulated at commercial and government nuclear facilities. (Failure to do so will result in over $11 billion in law suits from energy companies).

Yucca Mountain is the only site that is currently being considered for that repository.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is continuing to process the application for the repository, despite this Administration saying the project is dead.

Yucca Mountain has been studied and characterized for more than three decades, (at a cost of $10 billion) and it has been found to be the safest and best option for disposing of used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste given the parameters of U.S. law.

Nevada has NEVER negotiated for compensation or benefits, as allowed in the NWPA.  The window of opportunity to begin such negotiations will close when (if) the license to operate is approved by the NRC.  If the license is approved without Nevada working out a “deal” in advance, the nuclear industry will get the gold mine - and Nevadans will get the shaft.

We could certainly increase funding to the state if our state leaders who constructively engage in being part of the solution as opposed to the problem.  (We don’t consider this “blood money” as our polticians call it.  We consider it compensation for helping our nation fix a problem.)

But morever, rather than being a “dump,” Yucca Mountain could become the site of a world-class National Energy Research Center where not only would nuclear energy technology be studied and advanced, and but other alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar and geothermal.  All of these facilities would create thousands upon thousands of good, high-paying jobs and additional tax revenue for the state.

Demand for energy in US is expcted to increase by 45% by 2030.

Nuclear energy is one of the safest, cleanest, most reliable and economical sources of electric power, with NO carbon emmissions (a major cause of global climate change.)

As demand for electricity continues to grow, the demand for additional nuclear power grows - but first our nation must address the current spent fuel rods piling up at 112 power plants.

France, Japan, and Britain all safely reporcess their nuclear spent fuel from power plants. 

President Carter signed an executive order banningreprocessing, which put the US decades behind in this research. President Bushlifted the ban and we now are researching reprocessing options.

Recognizing the potential threat of nuclear material falling into the hands of terrorists, Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in 1982 which made permanent storage of nuclear waste the responsibility of the federal government rather than the nuclear industry.  In 1987, Congress passed legislation designating Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the only site to be considered for the repository.

Yucca Mountain is situated onland owned by the federal government, not the state ofNevada. As such, a “state’s rights” argument forblocking the repository isn’t as strong as it would otherwisebe.

The site is located far from any major population centers in the vast, dry, barren desert adjacent to the Nuclear Test Site where live atomic weapons have been exploded both above and below ground.  Because of these tests, the land surrounding the area, including Yucca Mountain, can’t be used for much else other than nuclear testing, research and storage.

In a March 2009 article in Forbes Magazine, Berkley physics professor Richard Mueller said that the radiation levels in Denver, which occur naturally, are higher than the levels that would be present at Yucca Mt. when it is operational.

 Primary funding for the construction and operation of Yucca Mountain comes from a customer surcharge on power company electric bills, not tax dollars.

According to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), storage of spent nuclear fuel rods at Yucca Mountain was supposed to begin not later than January 31, 1998.  Because of delays in the licensing of the facility, utilities are successfully suing the federal government, costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year.  If Yucca is “killed” without an alternative, the US will face BILLIONS in lawsuits from the nuclear industry….law suits WE TAXPAYERS will have to pay!

Despite spending millions of Nevada taxpayer dollars on efforts to kill the Yucca Mountain project, the facility is now in the license approval stage for construction.  The only thing Nevada’s obstruction has done is slow the project down, not stop it.

In addition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewing the Yucca Mountain licensing application, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its safety standards and the Department of Energy (DOE) has settled on the Caliente Route for rail transportation through Nevada and to the repository.  In short, almost all of the ducks are now in a row for construction of the facility to begin.

It is estimated that the NRC could issue the license to construct in as little as three to four years, at which point Yucca Mountain could become a reality - with Nevada getting little if anything in return.

Since the repository at Yucca Mountain was established by Congress, only Congress – not the president - can kill the facility by repealing the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. 

Since it’s 49 states that don’t want the repository vs. Nevada, the odds of Congress changing its mind and finding a site other than Yucca Mountain for permanent waste disposal are extremely slim.

Since the time NWPA was originally passed by Congress, advanced recycling processes have become more technically viable. 

Spent nuclear fuel rods can be reprocessed, changing the waste form and greatly reducing the amount of material requiring permanent storage, while simultaneously providing an additional source of electric power.

Over 3,000 shipments of spent nuclear fuel have crossed 1.6 million miles of road and rail without incident.  Shipments of gasoline, amonia and chlorine gas all pose a far greater danger than spent nuclear fuel.  Nuceal spent doesn't even make it on Homeland Security's Top 10 list of transportered dangerous materials!

Nevada currently faces a 30% budget gap, to the tune of about $3 billion dollars in revenue shortfall.

On June 2008, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced an amendment to provide Nevada with half-a-billion dollars a year in cash payments in return for hosting the nation’s permanent nuclear waste repository. Sen. Inhofe’s proposal was merely an “opening bid."

In addition to cash compensation, Nevadans would benefit tremendously should a recycling plant be built at Yucca Mountain, as well as a nuclear power facility which could use the reprocessed fuel rods to provide Nevadans with abundant and inexpensive electricity.