Is Yucca Mountain a long-term solution for disposing of US spent nuclear fuel andhigh-level radioactive waste?

Abstract

On 26 January 2012, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future released areport addressing, amongst other matters, options for the managing and disposal ofhigh-level waste and spent fuel. The Blue Ribbon Commission was not chartered as a sitingcommission. Accordingly, it did not evaluate Yucca Mountain or any other location as apotential site for the storage or disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste.Nevertheless, if the Commission’s recommendations are followed, it is clear that any futureproposals to develop a repository at Yucca Mountain would require an extended period ofconsultation with local communities, tribes and the State of Nevada. Furthermore, therewould be a need to develop generally applicable regulations for disposal of spent fuel andhigh-level radioactive waste, so that the Yucca Mountain site could be properly comparedwith alternative sites that would be expected to be identified in the initial phase of thesite-selection process. Based on what is now known of the conditions existing atYucca Mountain and the large number of safety, environmental and legal issuesthat have been raised in relation to the DOE Licence Application, it is suggestedthat it would be imprudent to include Yucca Mountain in a list of candidatesites for future evaluation in a consent-based process for site selection. Even ifthere were a desire at the local, tribal and state levels to act as hosts for sucha repository, there would be enormous difficulties in attempting to develop anadequate post-closure safety case for such a facility, and in showing why thisunsaturated environment should be preferred over other geological contexts that exist inthe USA and that are more akin to those being studied and developed in othercountries.