deep geological repository storage facility for spent nuclear reactor
fuel and other radioactive waste. The repository is located in a
desert on federal land adjacent to the Nevada Test Site in Nye County,
Nevada, about 80 miles from the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The
repository lies within Yucca Mountain, a ridge line in the
south-central part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The ridge is composed
of volcanic material (mostly tuff) ejected from a now-extinct
caldera-forming supervolcano.
The idea of storing radioactive waste in Yucca Mountain is
controversial. Opponents argue that climate, erosion, earthquakes, and
other natural forces would make it an unstable and unsuitable place
for storage. The Department of Energy was to begin accepting spent
fuel at the Yucca Mountain Repository by January 31, 1998 but has yet
to do so because of a series of delays due to legal challenges,
allegations of fraudulent geologic analysis,[citation needed] concerns
over how to transport nuclear waste to the facility, and political
pressures resulting in underfunding of the construction. There is
currently no official date set for opening the facility.
No comments:
Post a Comment