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StumblePanel: Yucca Mountain waste dump process continues
File photo
Yucca Mountain is located about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 | 11:10 a.m.
Sun coverage
A Nuclear Regulatory Commission legal panel says the federal Department of Energy can't withdraw its application to build a national nuclear waste dump in Nevada.
The NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled Tuesday that Congress directed the DOE to file an application for the Yucca Mountain repository, and directed the NRC to consider it.
It says letting the department "single-handedly derail" the process would be "contrary to congressional intent."
The NRC legal panel held hearings on the issue earlier this month in Las Vegas.
Neither Nevada nor DOE officials have said yet whether they will appeal.
Nevada opposes the plan that's been studied since the 1980s to bury the nation's spent nuclear fuel 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
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Now can the state finally start bargaining a bit to get a little something on the back end for the people who live here... Education would be a great place to start...
Oh and can we please stop spending money on appeals...
Well whaddaya know... the NRC board believes it's more important to follow the law than kowtow to Harry Reid. It's a step in the right direction.
What is Sharron Angle's position on the Yucca Mountain waste dump?
We HAVE to keep Harry in. He's such a force in the Senate. What s joke that is..
Good riddance to the badly mismanaged '00's.
Those thinking about long-term recovery, know the environment will be a big winner in the conversion to biofuels & biopower -- saw a cool site; Balkingpoints ; incredible satellite view of earth
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the State of Nevada do not want the Yucca Mountain Waste dump completed. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the DOE and Nevada can't derail the process. What we will see happening is the project being completed but spent nuclear fuel never being stored there. Tax dollars well spent. Anyone with a lick of sense knows the country must rely on nuclear energy to meet the growing energy demands until an alternative source of energy can be identified and developed. No one wants to have the spent fuel stored in their vicinity. NIMBY.
Finally, common sense prevails. Now if we can just get Nevada's delegation (Dem's and Repub's) along with Rory and Brian to come around and realize the safety record of Nuclear energy and the benefits to Nevada in operating Yucca Mtn. What better way to charge up those electric cars than with a few "Green" Nuke plants! Go Nuclear!!
sharron angle couldn't shut down a crack house...
let alone yucca mountain...
hell...
she is afraid to speak in public these days...
she might even support yucca for all i know...
since she is so afraid to talk in public...
who knows...
this is why we must re-elect harry reid...
you don't want your kids to glow in the dark do you???
I consider myself a Nevadan... Have lived here for most of my life almost 24 years... Parents were military and stationed here in '83, yes I can remember the dam spillways in use... they liked it so much we relocated her in '90... sister was born here and I like it so much, I bought a house here with intentions of living here for a very long time..
I also remember reading an article published about 7 years ago in a local newspaper about the value this thing can bring to the state... It would likely be worth double or more then the gaming industry is now... So beyond that I also know the science which I have already gotten into with a few tree-huggers on this website... and contrary to blind, follow the fictional politicians claims, believe it is very safe... And we should be grasping at the opportunity to host this facility...
But oh well when has anyone ever gone along with the right and responsible way of doing things... It is much better to be reactionary then proactive in our society... Which is exactly what this knee jerk reaction to try and stop it is...
The fact is this thing is built already... And was done so, not with tax payer dollars but with taxes imposed on the nuclear industry with the intention the government would build this for them... so guess what, whether you like it or not this thing is happening... so we can either accept it and parlay it into a win for the state of Nevada, or fight it to the bitter end and get left in the dark for a better lack of a pun...
I say convert it to fallout-shelter condos, and sell them on foxnews! win-win!
Harry Reid is against the Yucca Mountain because he believes fighting it is what keeps him winning the senate seat. But without the Yucca Mountain, he is just a mediocre senator with no accomplisment for Nevada whatsoever. Every bad things we now experience in Nevada happens because he never did anything other than fight the Yucca project which would have diversified Nevada's economy.
I like VegasEngineer's comment the best!
We need to open Yucca and charge through the nose for storing the waste.
If Silver State Disposal can rip off the residents of Clark County, then surely Yucca is the biggest gold mine on the face of the earth.
Money for schools......solved.
Money for infrastructure.......solved.
Money to bloat government to biblical proportions..... solved.
Money to keep the freeloaders flush....solved.
Money for whatever your little heart desires......solved.
Nuclear energy is the only "green energy" solution that is viable.
Thanks Harry, I knew I could count on you.
They only people against Yucca are the people who believe in unicorns, fairy tales and Obama as a great President. (hint: all three are mythical creatures)
"We need to open Yucca and charge through the nose for storing the waste."
It's a federal repository, and to my knowledge Nevada has no right to charge ANYTHING to store waste there.
Ms. "Small Government" Angle wants to roll over and allow the feds to ram nuclear waste storage down the throats of Nevadans. She'll say no to helping Nevada's unemployed and no to taking responsibility for the unemployment rate in Nevada, but yes to nuclear waste?
The GOP's priorities are not the priorities of Nevada.
It's not only the storage of the nuclear waste that is an issue it's the crazy plan to ship it from all over the country with multiple shipments passing a mile from the strip in Las Vegas everyday on the rail lines. Every terrorist in the world will be able to figure out that every few hours nuclear wast will pass down that rail line. How do you secure thousands of miles of rail lines from IEDS when the military couldn't even do that on the streets in Iraq with an active military presence and drones and survailance.
If terrorists where able to derail a canister under an overpass or in a tunnel and create a fire the canister could be breached releasing radiation. This is especially likely if the fire could melt the overpass causing it to crush the already white hot canister.
These plans have just become completely unsafe in light of the 9/11 attacks and continued terrorist attacks against the west. An attack on a canister in trasit would be likely and almost impossible to defend against.
Greedy republican never care about public safty.
President Obama and Harry Reid are against
Yucca Mountain because it is NOT SAFE and never
will be safe.
Yucca Mountain sits on active earthquake fault
lines and over underground water near the
California border.
YUCCA WILL NEVER BE SAFE.
Comment removed by moderator. Name calling.
PARTY AT THE GHOSTBAR TONIGHT! (ONCE AGAIN) CELEBRATE THE DEATH OF YUCCA MOUNTAIN!!! "Senator" Richard Bryant will AGAIN be drinking booze out of Cindy Treichel's A-(for atom)-cups! Bruce Breslow will pull rods of depleted uranium out of his nether-regions! "RORY" will do his famous "neutron dance"!!! And finally, Dirty Harry will demonstrate what exactly he can do with his "searchlight"!!! See you tonight at 9 pm!!!!!!
Just like Reid and many union members are saying Yucca Mountain is not safe. But what are their basis... nothing. That's why we have a licensing process in the NRC to determine if the site is safe or unsafe. That's why they studied the site for almost 30 years and spend over 10B dollars. Why not let the determination process go to find out if the site is safe or unsafe? What are the fear of the Yucca project opponents? Are they afraid NRC will find the site safe and approve the construction? If the construction is approved, I'm sure unions will be demanding for the construction jobs... and this is the main reason why casinos don't want other industries to take hold in Nevada for fear of competing with the labor pools and raising the wages.
Recent, increased earthquake activity in
California and Nevada, is the scientific reason
why Yucca will never be safe.
If you still want to bury nuclear waste, send
it to Texas.
Edge I am sorry you are so confused. Nevada can get "subsidies" for storage of Nuclear waste. It is paid for by the states where it originated. I know, I know, it's easier to live in your fantasy world. Is that enough or do I still need to getabrain as you so eloquently eluded too? (are you running for fifth grade student body prez, because that was witty.)
Terrorist attacks?? What's next, the sky is falling. The uneducated can conjure up any excuse to eliminate all chances of energy dependence.
Teamster, stick to driving a truck unless you are just a box boy (teamsters union covers them as well) you know that Yucca is next to the Test site and not Disneyland, right??
Our Country will do everything in it's power to be at the behest of foreign energy suppliers, Obama himself is rooting for Brazil, not the US.
Teamster, riddle me this; If engineers can make the Golden Gate bridge and many, many others Earthquake proof, not to mention advanced techniques is sway isolation and control; why can't that same technology be applied to Yucca...Oh I know, because it doesn't fit your kooky political ideology.
I don't think they plan to just dump raw waste into a hole and leave it, I am sure it will be in very rugged containers so the earthquake theory is not going to work as the waste will already be protected in containers. As for trains, well then they could truck it in, again the wastes will be in containers approved for movement so if one falls on the ground in an accident there is no risk. Once again "O" has been stopped. Thank the sane ones out there in government.
petef, stop right now! You are using logic, a product sorely missing from the detractors arguments.
We now have the technology to RECYCLE nuclear
waste.
We DO NOT have to bury it in a hole.
Republicans know nothing about science.
Teamster,
pot meet kettle
getalife.....
Like I said, republicans know nothing about
science.
You people live in the STONE AGE.
Hey Teamster, how many jobs did the Teamster Union local 631 lose when they shut down work at Yucca Mountain? Just think of the thousands of jobs it would of created for the union. Show up at the next meeting and tell all the out of work Teamsters how great it was to shut this project down.
On 6-29-10 the NRC rule on Yucca Mountain came down and destroyed the credibility of Harry Reid and Obama. The NRC said "we deny DOE's motion to withdraw the Application. We do so because the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended (NWPA), does not permit the Secretary to withdraw the Application that the NWPA mandates the Secretary file.
Specifically, the NWPA does not give the Secretary the discretion to substitute his policy for the one established by Congress in the NWPA that, at this point, mandates progress toward a merits decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the construction permit.
Say that again - the law mandates progress toward a merits decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the [Yucca] construction permit.
/////////////////////////////////
So the first big lie in a legal setting is for the Harry Reid and the Obama Administration to have said that they have "determined" that "Yucca Mountain is not a workable solution."
There is no documented DETERMINATION.
The second LIE is Obama's promise about "Sound Science". "It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make facts, not ideology." Not anymore!
/////////////////////////////
teamster,
A former president made it illegal to recycle the waste. Which one, you ask? Carter.
The idea of re-processing has merit, but even though there are many good ideas on it (bradgore and I discussed them at length some time ago) none are currently ready for production. But even when they are, Yucca could serve as a center for such activity and generate enormous revenue for the State.
Obama said during his campaign that nuclear power was part of his plans to make America energy independent. It's time for him to back that up and stop playing politics with Yucca for Harry Reid's benefit.
sharron NUT JOB angle...
wants our kids to glow in the dark...
sharron loves her some yucca mountain...
boftx and Brian.....
Public safty comes first in whatever method we
use for nuclear waste.
The last thing we need is a nuclear accident.
Sound science and the newest technology is what
we now need.
Why can't the NutJobs understand that teeny, tiny, 2 letter word???
N FREAKING O.
OK???
For those of you who want to talk about earthquakes, here is the link to the USGS maps for the Las Vegas area:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/r...
A 1.0 earthquake is imperceptible to our senses. This is science, not politics.
A 1.0 earthquake doesn't mean there won't be a
6 or 7.0 quake in the same area.
Nevada and California are the most active
earthquake states in the country.
It's too dangerous to take the chance that a
large quake won't hit Yucca.
Nuclear waste is way too dangerous to transport
and bury in a known earthquake area.
One of the problems with the nukes in our current stage of implementation is the simple fact that they make nukie dookie - spent fuel rods that remain dangerously radioactive for 'bout half a million years.
Excuse me for inquiring, but doesn't that fact have any impact on its perceived viability?
Who is going to secure this growing pile?
You already know Osama and his cohorts would love more than anything to lay their hands on a hunk a that an blow it up over Iowa, Kansas and Louisianna so we can't eat corn, wheat or grits.
Who in their right mind would even proceed with plans to incorporate nukes into our way of life?
Answer: the nuke industry with exciting financial rewards!
Does it really make sense to create nasty stuff to lure bombers with? Stuff we don't need, for energy we really do NOT need to be wasting.
When we signed on to "Power too cheap to meter - Nuclear!" we sold the farm. Either we readdress the planetary safety issue or we keep on wasting energy, growing fatter and fatter (too big to fail!) consumption patterns and waste ethic until we glow in the dark!
gmag, Do you have a clue what Yucca is all about, two little letters, N frickin O.
Take the tour, open and your mind and think outside the shill mentality