The article states "Richard Brenner, hazardous materials coordinator for the Clark County Fire Department, who appeared on Tuesday’s program, said that if a train carrying high-level nuclear waste derailed in such a manner, “Las Vegas would not be prepared to handle something like that. It would be very difficult for any fire department in the nation to handle something like that.”
Richard Brenner should be more concerned about keeping his job, if he is hazardous materials coordinator for Clark County fire department and doesn't even know that a train carrying waste to Yucca Mountain couldn't derail in the same manner, since spent fuel and vitrified waste are in solid form and cannot burn or explode.

I found the last paragraph of this story to be quite funny. First, the Energy Department isn't submitting a license application at the White House's behest. They are submitting a license application as they are required to do by law - - in other words, at Congress's behest.
The characterization of DOE "recklessly speeding ahead" is even funnier - - Congress directed that the repository should be operational in 1998 - - so the recklessly speeding Dept. of Energy is more than 10 years behind (closer to 15 years) in submitting a license application.
Those crazy reckless speeding bureaucrats!!!!

I wonder what is Mr. Bourgoin's point? DOE is required by law to submit a license application to the NRC. The NRC is required by law to review the application and decide whether or not to grant a license application.

This is not news, its been the law since 1982.

NRC will either decide the science and
technology support repository construction at the site, or it will decide not to grant a construction application. That's how the process was designed by Congress to work. No great insights here; its just the system working the way it was designed.

I'm surprised that no one has commented on Hillary Clinton's dual positions on a Yucca Mountain repository. Yes, she is completely against it, EXCEPT, a year ago this month she cosponsored a bill - - S. 81, which instructs the Secretary of Energy to transport high level radioactive waste from the Western New York Nuclear Service Center to a federal repository for permanent disposal.
Is there another proposed federal repository that she had in mind?