DOE eyes study of building nuke dump in stages

Friday, Dec. 14, 2001 | 9:42 a.m.

The Department of Energy has asked a National Academy of Sciences panel to investigate building a nuclear waste repository in stages so that flaws in the project could be identified at an early point in construction.

The DOE does not have final design plans for a proposed nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain, a layered volcanic ash ridge 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The panel will review ways to build a repository that would allow the DOE to respond to unexpected conditions.

The DOE is in the process of conducting scientific studies at the site, which could one day house 77,000 tons of the nation's nuclear waste.

The National Research Council's 14-member panel, all volunteers with no ties to the DOE, will meet in Las Vegas Monday through Wednesday, Chairman Charles McCombie said.

The scientists met for the first time Sept. 5 in Washington. The Las Vegas meeting will allow the panel to hear from experts and the public regarding how to make the proposed design and construction process more efficient, McCombie said from Switzerland on Thursday.

While the DOE provides funding for meetings and research, it has no say in the panel's report, academy staff member Barbara Pastina said.

"They have absolutely no control of what comes out of the report," Pastina said of the DOE's role.

By breaking down the building process in stages, the repository manager could use the most recent scientific findings available, he said.

By using a step-by-step approach to construction, scientists would have more control over unexpected problems sure to arise during such a complex project, he said.

At the end of each step, the manager "can decide whether to proceed or even reverse the process," McCombie said.

However, the panel's review cannot offer an alternative to burying the waste, McCombie said.

"We are not passing judgment in any way on the technical work at Yucca Mountain," he said. "Our job is to get the safest system for a deep geological repository anywhere."

The panel's work could be applied all over the world, McCombie said, and could be directed specifically at Yucca Mountain.

"Our job is to review the work and to make a logical framework so the DOE may integrate the work," he said.

The panel hopes to allay society's concerns on the issue of disposing of nuclear waste by reporting solid scientific and technological evidence that the mountain is suitable as a repository, he said.

Panel members have varied professional backgrounds, ranging from physical and earth sciences to communications and institutional affairs fields. McCombie is an independent consultant and holds a doctorate in physics. He has consulted on nuclear waste projects in Switzerland, Japan, Germany and the United States.

The panel could have an interim report ready by February 2002, Pastina said. A final report is expected in November 2002.

"National Academy of Sciences reports are not the fastest for turnaround time," Pastina said. And, since the scientists volunteer their time, "they work on this in their spare time."

No decision has been made regarding a time-frame for recommending Yucca Mountain to President Bush as the nation's nuclear waste repository.

Nevada officials have criticized Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham for planning to recommend the site to Bush before scientific studies of Yucca's suitability as a repository are complete. That recommendation is widely expected to come in the next few weeks, both nuclear power and Nevada officials say.