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CARSON CITY, Nev., Dec 22, 2006 -- BUSINESS WIRE
The state of Nevada petitioned the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today to rule out the U.S. Department of Energy's plans to use the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada for indefinite surface storage of thousands of tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act specifically prohibits a large interim storage site in Nevada as long as the state is the proposed location of a repository. DOE claims the storage facility, which it calls an "aging facility" because it will hold spent fuel until it is cool enough to allow it to be moved underground, is integral to the efficient operation of the proposed repository. But Loux said the proposed surface storage could last for decades. "Planned storage of seven times the annual emplacement rate at Yucca Mountain is nothing more than an unlawful interim storage site in embarrassingly thin disguise," Loux said. "Decoupling waste receipt from emplacement is proof of the department's intent to establish a massive storage site at Yucca Mountain. This would increase transport frequency and the department's haste for rail and highway waste shipments across the nation to Yucca Mountain, only adding to already risky waste transportation." Loux added, "I can see the need for some limited storage capacity at a site to support operations, and that is why, in this petition, we are proposing that the commission's licensing rule limit surface storage at the site to a time period of no more than one year. The law clearly says that a repository site is for waste disposal, not surface storage. The waste is currently aging at the reactors where it was generated, and that is what the law intended." Loux also expressed concern about the NRC process, saying, "The NRC is supposed to publish a petition in the Federal Register and seek public comment on whether a rule-making proceeding should be initiated. Unfortunately, our experience in petitioning the NRC has not been good. They have simply ignored some of our petitions. We believe in this case the NRC has an obligation to settle the issue before DOE proceeds further." DOE plans to submit a Yucca Mountain license application for a nuclear waste repository to the commission in June 2008, six years after Congress authorized the submission, which by law was supposed to be done 90 days after the congressional vote. For a copy of Nevada's Petition for Rule-Making to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and for more information on Nevada's opposition to the proposed nuclear waste dump, visit www.state.nv.us/nucwaste. SOURCE: Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects News Provided By |
