Scientists to report on ground water flow from Yucca

Tuesday, July 30, 2002 | 9:12 a.m.

Members of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board are: Mark Abkowitz, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University; Thure Cerling, geology and geophysics professor at the University of Utah; David Duquette, professor and head of the department of materials science and engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York; and Ronald Latanision,professor of materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Seattle scientists are scheduled to report in September on a study to determine the direction of ground water flow from a planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

Nye County gave the Hydrodynamics Group in Washington state $4.9 million in Energy Department research money to drill five holes in California during the next three years to study the flow, said Andrew Remus, a hydrologist working for Inyo County in California.

The direction of the groundwater flow is crucial as Yucca Mountain nears licensing, Remus said. If it is determined that the water is flowing toward major population centers, it could raise major questions about the project, he said.

Yucca Mountain is 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

The independent scientists will work with the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service, which manages Death Valley.

Energy Department scientists and independent experts will present updates on the study to the independent Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board on Sept. 10 in Las Vegas.

President Bush approved Yucca Mountain as a repository for 77,000 tons of radioactive waste after the Senate overturned Gov. Kenny Guinn's veto on July 8.

The Energy Department has been studying the mountain for more than 20 years, but questions remain about groundwater direction, materials proposed for burial containers and volcanism at the site.

Incoming board chairman Michael Corradini is scheduled to open the Sept. 10 meeting at the Alexis Park hotel. He replaces outgoing chairman Jared Cohon, who has served on the board since 1995 and as chairman since 1997.

The meeting is open to the public.