CEAC-2022-02-February

News
Yucca Mountain Remains in Debate Over
Nuclear Waste Storage
By Gary Martin | Las Vegas Review-Journal
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mounting opposition to proposed nuclear
waste storage sites in Texas and New Mexico has kept Yucca
Mountain in Nevada in the national debate over what to do
with the growing stockpile of radioactive material scattered
around the country.
The Biden administration is opposed to Yucca Mountain and
has announced plans to send waste to places where state,
local and tribal governments agree to accept it. That stance is
shared by Nevada elected officials, tribal leaders and business
and environmental groups.
But until the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Act is changed by
Congress, the proposed radioactive waste repository 90 miles
north of Las Vegas remains the designated permanent storage
site for spent fuel rods from commercial nuclear plants.
“That’s what worries me. Until you get a policy in place, it
will always be something you have to watch,” U.S. Rep. Dina
Titus, D-Nevada, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
An expert on atomic testing and American politics, Titus, as
a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, wrote a
1986 book on Nevada’s nuclear past.
As an elected state and congressional lawmaker, she has opposed
a permanent storage facility at Yucca Mountain.
Titus introduced legislation in past sessions of Congress that
adopts recommendations by a 2012 Blue Ribbon Commission
under the Obama administration to send the waste to states
that want it.
Similar legislation has been filed in the Senate by Catherine
Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, a former state attorney general
who also has fought federal efforts to build a repository at
Yucca Mountain.
The legislation has failed to pass, as lawmakers from both
parties who represent states with nuclear power plants seek
a quick solution to waste disposal.
Wastes Piling Up
The Biden administration has since proposed to fund interim
storage in light of the 30-year stalemate over Yucca Mountain,
due to growing need to address stockpiles of radioactive
waste at decommissioned and operating plants across
the country.
As of 2019, about 86,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel
was being stored at 119 sites, according to the Department
of Energy.
There are about 95 power plants operating in 29 states,
currently, generating 2,900 metric tons a year. And, there are
38 reactors in 30 states in various stages of decommissioning.
The waste is stored in casks, a former Energy Department
BULLOCK, LOGAN &
ASSOCIATES
SERVING CHICAGOLAND SINCE 1990
TRUST YOUR EQUIPMENT WITH THE
HEAT TRANSFER SPECIALISTS!
• Cooling Tower Repair
• Improve Efficiency & Performance
• Solutions for Ease of Maintenance
• Preventative Maintenance to Minimize
Emergency Shutdowns
CALL FOR A FREE INSPECTION!
www.bullocklogan.com
847-434-1200
“I’ve always fought misguided efforts to deposit nuclear
waste in Nevada, and I’ll keep working with the Nevada
delegation to pass my consent-based siting bill that would
ensure these dangerous materials are never dumped on our
state,” Cortez Masto said.
30
| Chief Engineer