Yucca still key in DOE reports: Studies may pave way for dumpsite’s future

Friday, May 4, 2001 | 11:30 a.m.

Four Energy Department reports on Yucca Mountain -- including an outline of scientific progress and a cost analysis -- were expected to be released today.

The studies do not provide an official endorsement of Yucca Mountain as a high-level nuclear waste repository, according to Lake Barrett, acting director of the DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.

The DOE studies, which report no major obstacles in recommending the site to the president and Congress, serve as an extra step toward ensuring public health and safety if a repository to house 77,000 tons of commercial reactor and weapons waste is built in Nevada, Barrett said.

"The DOE believes Yucca Mountain remains a promising site as a high-level nuclear waste repository," DOE Yucca Mountain Project Manager Russ Dyer said.

State and local government officials are expected to be briefed on the reports during a meeting today at the DOE Science and Information Center on Meadows Lane.

The four studies include a 1,000-page science and engineering report that describes ongoing studies at Yucca Mountain; a total cost analysis of the project from construction to closure; a nuclear consumer fee analysis; and a supplemental environmental impact statement on repository design.

Reports and some of the findings include:

* Science and Engineering: The research examines how fast ground water moves through the mountain's volcanic ash layers, what could happen when highly radioactive waste heats the rocks and chemical changes occur inside the mountain.

The DOE also presents options for keeping the radioactive burial site open for 100 years or more for monitoring after the last waste containers are buried in 2060.

* Supplemental Environmental Impact: This report includes plans other than the current "hot" repository concept. The current design would allow packages of radioactive waste to be packed closer together inside the mountain. Alternatives would leave more space between containers, which would allow for a "cooler" repository.

Independent scientists have recommended that the DOE examine a larger repository design to allow for more space between containers. The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board told the DOE that if containers are placed closer together a greater chance exists for heat to accelerate corrosion, which would allow radiation to escape from containers and into the environment.

* Cost Analysis: Predicts how much the DOE would have to spend for building and operating the repository.

It could cost at least $58 billion to build and begin operating a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain by 2010.

* Nuclear Ratepayer Fees: This document indicates the current charge of a tenth of a cent paid per kilowatt hour by nuclear power consumers would cover expenses associated with constructing and operating the repository.

The DOE's analysis of the fee paid by nuclear power consumers indicates that the current rate -- a 10th of a cent per kilowatt hour -- is sufficient to fund the construction and operation of a Yucca Mountain repository.

The cost analysis and the fee reports were required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the congressional mandate that launched the national program to manage high-level nuclear waste.

The DOE plans public hearings on this report in late May and early June.

A final environmental impact study is expected should the site be recommended to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.

The reports were delayed for about five months as the DOE's inspector general's office conducted an investigation into allegations of bias on the part of DOE officials who prepared the reports. A two-page document, written by John Kelly of JK Research Associates of Colorado, explained to reviewers how to sell the Yucca Mountain site to Congress, despite an estimated $58 billion price tag. The Sun published excerpts from the memo on Dec. 1.

Licensing of the project by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not expected to begin until mid to late 2002.

The DOE estimates it will take about a year for the site recommendation to move from the Bush administration through Congress. It is then expected to face a challenge from Nevada lawmakers, who have the right to veto the recommendation under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.