More than 80 percent of the radiation we are exposed to comes from natural sources such as sunlight, soil, and rocks.  Americans receive on average about 360 millirem or radiation each year

In a March article in Forbes Magazine, Berkley physics professor Richard Mueller said that the radiation levels in Denver (which occur naturally) will be higher than when Yucca Mt. is in operation. 

Technological Advancements

In current US nuclear power plants, reactor fuel is used once and then removed for disposal.  However, in other nations, such as France, Japan and the UK, reactor fuel is recycled and reused.

Recycling nuclear waste could produce around 5 trillion kilowatt hours of emissions-free energy over 40 years and, at the same time, greatly reduce both the volume and long-term radioactivity of our waste.

The research may take 20-30 years before we can build a commercial reactor, but when it does, Yucca Mountain should host the US facility since the facility is built to allow the spent fuel to be retrieved.

In 2006, DOE awarded grants to 11 volunteer locations to study the possibility of hosting advanced fuel-cycle developmental facilities in their communities.  Because of Nevada’s continued opposition to Yucca, we were not asked to participate.

Nevada needs to negotiate a new deal on Yucca Mountain that allows us to participate in the site selection process for the advanced fuel facility.