Editorial: More reason to question Yucca safety

Thursday, March 11, 2004 | 8:54 a.m.

A disturbing similarity unfolded Tuesday during a Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board meeting in Las Vegas. Two scientists testified that their research into the safety of permanent burial of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain differs from research conducted by the Energy Department. The testimony was true to a pattern that has developed over the years -- that of the Energy Department's research being inconsistent with research by independent scientists.

Alan L. Flint, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said his research shows that much more water than estimated by the Energy Department could penetrate Yucca Mountain's burial vaults. The big fear involving water is that the casks containing the waste could corrode. The waste would then leach into groundwater, causing widespread contamination. While the Energy Department has said that most water flows off or around Yucca Mountain, Flint said fractures in the rock enable water to penetrate much deeper than shown by previous studies.

The testimony of another scientist cast doubt on the Energy Department's confidence that Yucca Mountain would remain in a super-dry climate over the period of time in which the waste will remain toxic, which is 10,000 years at a minimum. Saxon Sharpe, a climatologist with the Desert Research Institute, studied the Earth's climate changes over the past 500,000 years. By charting weather cycles, she found that the Earth is moving toward a cooler, wetter climate, which means over thousands of years there would be much more water around Yucca Mountain than previously thought.

Other independent findings have also differed from the Energy Department's. They include chemical changes to the waste over time and increased temperatures in the burial vaults -- both of which could lead to burst casks. They also include heightened risks from earthquakes and nearby volcanoes. We believe there is every reason to reject the Energy Department's conclusion that Yucca Mountain, just 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, will be safe when independent studies consistently point to just the opposite.