| Below
are answers to these frequently asked questions about Yucca
Mountain. They fall into several categories:
Yucca Mountain
Time Line
Radiation
Radioactive
Waste
Radiation Protection Standards
Public Participation
Transportation
Questions and
Answers
Yucca
Mountain
What is Yucca
Mountain and what is its proposed
use?
The Department of Energy (DOE) is
studying Yucca Mountain as a potential repository repository for
radioactive waste. If approved, the site would be the
nation's first geological repository for permanent disposal of
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Yucca
mountain is located in Nye county, Nevada, 100 miles northwest of
Las Vegas on federally-owned land on the edge of the Nevada Test
Site.
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What are the
characteristics of Yucca
Mountain?
Yucca Mountain is a 1,200-foot high
flat-topped volcanic ridge extending six miles from north to
south. The mountain is comprised of "tuff," a rock made from
compacted volcanic ash formed more than 13 million years
ago. Yucca Mountain has a desert climate and receives about
six to seven inches of rain and snow per year. The Mountain
has a deep water table. The repository would be build
approximately 1,000 feet below the land surface and 1, 000 feet
above the water table.
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Are there features of
Yucca Mountain that could make it a suitable site for nuclear waste
disposal?
As early as 1957, the National Academy
of Sciences recommended burying radioactive waste in geologic
formations. After more than two decades of additional study,
the Department of Energy concluded that disposal in an underground
mined geologic repository is the preferred approach. Key to
final decision will be the existence of long-stable geological
formations and long-lived engineered barriers to isolate wastes.
Optimum characteristics of a site would be high stability, no
circulating ground water, location where severe earthquakes or
volcanic eruptions are highly unlikely, and deep enough to allow
for buffers of the same rock above and below
storage.
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Are there potential
concerns about Yucca Mountain as the site of a waste
repository?
There is ongoing debate over whether
the geologic features and proposed engineered barriers at Yucca
Mountain will provide sufficient isolation for permanent disposal.
A number of interested parties believe Yucca Mountain has certain
characteristics that pose a concern for long-term isolation of
highly radioactive materials. The State of Nevada's Nuclear Waste
Project Office points to Yucca's location in an active seismic
(earthquake) region; the presence of numerous earthquake faults
(at least 33 in and around the site) and volcanic cinder cones
near the site; evidence of hydrothermal activity within the
proposed repository block; and the presence of pathways (numerous
interconnecting faults and fractures) that could move groundwater
(and any escaping radioactive materials) rapidly through the site
to the aquifer beneath and from there to the accessible
environment.
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Do
people live near Yucca Mountain?
Yes. About 15 people live in Lathrop
Wells, located about 12 miles south of the site. Amargosa Valley,
a small agricultural community, is about 18 miles south of Yucca
Mountain with a population of approximately 1,400. The major
employers in and around Amargosa Valley are farming, tourism, and
government. The closest larger town is Pahrump. Pahrump is located
approximately 55 miles from Yucca Mountain with about 29,000
people. The closest metropolitan area is Las Vegas, with a
population of more than 1.2 million located approximately 100
miles southeast of Yucca Mountain.
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How
long will the waste possibly destined for Yucca Mountain remain
radioactive?
Spent nuclear fuel and
high-level radioactive waste contain short- and long-lived
radionuclides. Most radionuclides in this waste will decay to
insignificant levels within several hundred years. Some
radionuclides will take many thousands of years to decay to
non-threatening levels.
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How
would the nuclear waste be disposed of at
Yucca
Mountain?
DOE would be responsible for
operating the facility. Under current plans, the waste would be
repackaged and placed into disposal canisters. A remotely operated
rail car would carry the canisters down a ramp into a 100-mile
network of tunnels. Because of the excessive heat and the high
level of radiation, robots would position the
canisters.
The goal for the potential repository at Yucca
Mountain is to isolate the waste from the environment in these
ways:
- position the waste above the water
table where the relative dryness of rocks would minimize
exposure to groundwater;
- contain the waste in extremely
thick, corrosion-resistant packages; and
- bury the waste deep — approximately
1,000 feet below the land surface — preventing most kinds of
accidental contact with the waste from natural causes such as
severe weather.
When an estimated 70,000 tons of waste
has been disposed, the repository would be
closed.
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Where are these
wastes currently stored?
The wastes are currently stored at
commercial nuclear power plants and Department of Energy
facilities throughout the United States. Spent nuclear fuel is
stored in specially designed water-filled pools and above-ground
dry storage facilities. Liquid high-level wastes are stored in
large underground tanks made of stainless steel or carbon steel.
However, storage pools are reaching capacity at some nuclear power
plants. Although these sites were designed for
temporary
storage, new dry storage technology is available to permit
extended at-reactor or on-site storage until a repository is
eventually established.
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What
other federal agencies have a role at Yucca
Mountain?
DOE is responsible for the
construction, management, and operation of the potential geologic
repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. DOE follows Occupational
Safety and Health Administration regulations to ensure the safety
and health of workers at the site. The Department is also working
with the U.S. Geological Survey, part of the Department of the
Interior, on site characterization issues and activities. If the
site is licensed and approved to accept radioactive waste, DOE
would obtain a license, construct, operate, monitor, and close the
repository. Before any waste could be transported to the site, DOE
would route the carriers using Department of Transportation (DOT)
and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations and
guidelines.
NRC is responsible for determining whether DOE
will receive the necessary licenses to dispose of spent nuclear
fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the potential Yucca
Mountain repository.
Once EPA’s standards are finalized, NRC
would revise its regulations to be consistent with Environmental
Protection Agency’s standards.
If waste transportation to
Yucca Mountain is authorized, the DOT would be charged with
ensuring that waste carriers comply with routing regulations and
guidelines. Radioactive waste carrier drivers must be trained and
retrained each year to tackle a variety of transport conditions
and situations, including rough terrain and severe weather
conditions. Drivers must complete a First Responders Course to
help them prepare for incident prevention and response. Additional
emergency response support would be provided by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The Mine Safety and
Health Administration (MSHA) of the Department of Labor is
responsible for ensuring the health and safety of underground
workers at the Yucca Mountain facility. MSHA provides technical
assistance and consultation services and conducts on-site safety
and health visits at the facility.
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Time
Line
What must happen for
Yucca Mountain to open as a
repository?
In 2001, the Secretary of Energy
must decide whether to recommend to the President that Yucca
Mountain be established as a nuclear waste repository site. If the
Secretary of Energy recommends the site, the President must decide
whether to recommend the site to Congress.
If the
President recommends the site to Congress, the Governor or the
Nevada Legislature has the right to submit a “Notice of
Disapproval.” If the State does submit a notice, Congress can then
decide to override the “Notice of Disapproval” and approve the
Yucca Mountain site, or concur with the notice and disapprove the
site. If Congress, through a simple majority vote of
both
houses, approves the Yucca Mountain site, DOE in 2002 is
to submit an application to the NRC to construct the repository.
If NRC approves the application, DOE is to construct a
repository and apply to NRC for a license to begin receiving
waste. Under this schedule, if DOE receives the license, waste
disposal would begin in 2010.
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What
studies are currently being
conducted?
DOE is preparing a site
characterization report and an Environmental Impact Statement, as
required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The Draft Environmental
Impact Statement was released for public comment on August 6,
1999. The Final Environmental Impact Statement is scheduled to be
completed in 2000 and the site characterization report is to be
completed in
2001.
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What
is the difference between the site characterization report and the
environmental impact statement?
DOE's site characterization report
evaluates whether Yucca Mountain is a suitable site for a spent
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste repository. As part
of this evaluation, scientists are studying Yucca Mountain's
geology, hydrology, biology, and climate to determine whether any
adverse conditions exist that would disqualify the
site.
The Environmental Impact Statement will assess the
potential environmental impacts if the Yucca Mountain facility
serves as a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level
radioactive waste.
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What
happens after the repository
closes?
DOE's current plan is to
monitor the potential repository for at least 50 years once the
last waste package has been disposed. After the monitoring phase,
DOE plans to seal the tunnels and post a guard at the gate for as
long as necessary. It is impossible to predict which government
institutions
may evolve or disappear over the next 10,000
years, so at the time of permanent closure DOE plans to use
“passive” measures to warn people against disturbing the site.
Monuments, warning markers, and widespread records would be used
to inform people of the contents of the Yucca Mountain site and to
keep people from intruding into the
site.
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Radiation
What
is radiation?
Radiation is energy in the form of
high-speed atomic particles or electromagnetic waves. All matter
is composed of elements, and each element can take many different
forms (called isotopes). Some of these isotopes, called
radionuclides, are unstable and emit radiation. Radionuclides
release radiation as they change from unstable, energized forms to
more stable forms.
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How
can ionizing radiation cause harm to
humans?
Ionizing radiation is powerful enough
to alter cellular chemicals and disrupt normal cell functioning.
Ionizing radiation is potentially harmful to humans by causing
damage to tissue. The extent of the damage depends on the amount
of radiation and which cellular chemicals are damaged. The effects
of low levels of radiation range from being insignificant to the
initiation of cancer or genetic
effects.
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How much radiation
are people exposed to in the course of
everyday
life?
Individual exposures vary, but humans are
exposed routinely to radiation from both natural sources, such as
radon and cosmic rays from the sun, and manmade sources, such as
medical X-rays. In addition, the human body contains natural
radioactive elements such as certain isotopes of potassium.
Because individual human exposures to radiation are
usually small, the millirem (one-thousandth of a rem) is generally
used to express human dosages of radiation. The average annual
radiation exposure from both naturally
occurring and manmade
sources for a person living in the United States, excluding radon,
is 160 millirem. The following table shows some average radiation
doses from several common sources of human exposure.
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What
is a half-life?
A half-life measures the length of time it
takes for half of the radioactive atoms in an element to decay.
After one half-life, for example, half the radioactive atoms in a
sample remain radioactive; after two half-lives, one-quarter
remain radioactive; after three half-lives, one-eighth remain
active; and so on. Each radioactive element has a unique half-life
and the half-lives range from a fraction of a second to billions
of years.
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Radioactive
Waste
What categories of
nuclear waste are there?
There are six general categories of
radioactive waste:
- spent nuclear fuel from nuclear
reactors,
- high-level radioactive waste from
the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel;
- transuranic radioactive waste,
resulting mainly from manufacture of nuclear weapons;
- uranium mill tailings from the
mining and milling of uranium ore;
- low-level radioactive waste,
generally in the form of radioactively contaminated industrial
or research waste; and
- naturally occurring radioactive
material.
“Mixed waste” contains both radioactive
and chemical components. Mixed waste is not a “category” of
nuclear waste because depending on the source and level of
radioactivity, the waste may be categorized, for instance, as
low-level versus high-level radioactive waste.
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What
kind of radioactive wastes are proposed for disposal in Yucca
Mountain?
Spent nuclear fuel and high-level
radioactive wastes make up most of the material proposed for
disposal in the Yucca Mountain repository. Approximately 90
percent of the material proposed to be disposed in the repository
will be commercial spent nuclear fuel and approximately 10 percent
will be high-level radioactive waste from defense programs.
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What is high-level
radioactive waste?
High-level radioactive waste in the
United States is primarily a byproduct of producing nuclear
materials for defense uses. This type of waste is stored in forms
such as sludge, liquid, or pellets which must be solidified before
disposal.
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What
is spent nuclear fuel?
Spent nuclear fuel is fuel that has
been removed from a nuclear reactor once it no longer is efficient
at powering the reactor. Once a year, approximately one-third of
the nuclear fuel is replaced with new fuel. This used fuel is
called spent nuclear fuel and is highly radioactive; containing
plutonium and other radionuclides.
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Radiation Protection Standards
Who would set standards
for protecting the public from
exposure to radiation at Yucca
Mountain?
EPA’s role is to set standards for
protecting the public and the environment from exposure to
radiation from potential releases from the waste in Yucca
Mountain. In Section 801 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992,
Congress charged EPA with setting site-specific radiation
protection standards. In other words, EPA's radiation protection
standards are developed specifically for Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
EPA's standards limit the public's exposure to radiation from
management and disposal of this waste.
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What
is the basis of EPA's standards?
The Energy Policy Act requires EPA to
set the standards based on, and consistent with, the findings and
recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences' "Technical
Bases for Yucca Mountain Standards" 
EPA not only considered the report but
also public comments received on the report from public hearings
as well as additional written comments. EPA also considered
previous applicable regulations such as the generic standards at
40 CFR Part 191 “Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for
the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level and
Transuranic Radioactive Wastes” for this type of waste. These
standards were used to assess the safety of the Waste Isolation
Pilot Plant--a deep geologic repository for disposal of
transuranic waste located in southeastern New Mexico near
Carlsbad.
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Will the public have an opportunity
to participate in development of the radiation protection
standards?
EPA has held public hearings,
stakeholder meetings, other means for public information exchange
as well as a 90-day public comment period on EPA's proposed
standards that followed its publication in the Federal
Register.
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Public Participation
How can the
public get current and reliable information about hearings,
meetings, and the status of EPA activities regarding Yucca
Mountain?
Information about EPA's Yucca Mountain
activities is available by calling the Agency's toll-free Yucca
Mountain Information Line at 1-800-331-947 or at this Web
site.
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How can individuals participate in
EPA's regulatory rulemaking
process?
The Agency is now preparing the final
standards and is no longer accepting public comments. EPA held
public hearings in Nevada and Washington, DC in October of 1999
and had a 90-day comment period in late 1999. At this time, the
Agency is preparing responses to the comments received. We
will issue the response-to-comments document when the final
standards are published.
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How can the public share their
opinions about Yucca Mountain with federal
authorities?
Many individuals were able to share
their opinions about Yucca Mountain with federal authorities by
testifying at federally-sponsored public hearings that were held
in October of 1999 or by submitting comments in writing at the
hearings for inclusion in the official transcript or to EPA's
docket in Washington, DC. Now that the hearings are completed and
the public comment period closed, you may submit questions and
statements through any of the following channels:
You may of course, also contact your
Congressional representatives.
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Transportation
How
might nuclear waste be transported to Yucca Mountain?
Though DOE has stated that no
transportation decisions will be made until Yucca Mountain is
approved, many options are under consideration. Current plans call
for the shipments to originate in the 35 states with nuclear
reactors and government weapons facilities. The waste is to travel
by trucks and trains through 43 states on their way to Nevada.
Radioactive waste is currently shipped in casks that
function as barriers against the release of radiation during
transport. Casks are heavily shielded to contain the radioactive
material within allowable limits established by DOT and must be
certified by NRC to withstand extreme accidents, impact, puncture,
and exposure to fire and water.
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What are the potential
transportation routes?
Using DOE preliminary plans and models,
the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects developed graphics with
potential transportation routes. These transportation maps can be
found at their Web
site.
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What emergency
safeguards exist along proposed
transportation
routes?
FEMA helps states, local governments,
and tribes develop emergency response plans. This effort involves
training and equipping emergency response personnel, medical
personnel, and others to deal with potential
contingencies.
With proper handling and safeguards, spent
nuclear fuel and high-level waste shipments can be, and have been,
responsibly managed and successfully completed. However, these
materials are extremely hazardous and require extraordinary
precautions and vigilance.
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