================================= Together We Create Heaven on Earth [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================= Come join exploration - a discussion list dedicated to keeping up-to-date on new technologies, advancements in medicine, environmental concerns, 'conspiracy theories' and, of course, UFO stuff. Discussion is encouraged. Bashing and soapboxing will get you bounced off the list. To subscribe to exploration send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List Moderator: Hilary A. Thomas -----Original Message----- From: JEFFTS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Friday, December 18, 1998 10:11 PM Subject: [visited] [Fwd: Nevada desert is promising site for nuke waste -US]
Received: from virtualmaster4-int.prodigy.net ([127.0.0.1]) by virtualmaster4.prodigy.net-wfldad with ESMTP; Fri, 18 Dec 1998 12:55:46 -0500 Received: from imo13.mx.aol.com (imo13.mx.aol.com [198.81.17.3]) by virtualmaster4-int.prodigy.net (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id MAA289664 for <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Fri, 18 Dec 1998 12:54:37 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from [EMAIL PROTECTED] by imo13.mx.aol.com (IMOv18.1) id HWIFa29093 for <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Fri, 18 Dec 1998 12:52:39 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 12:52:39 EST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mime-Version: 1.0 Subject: Nevada desert is promising site for nuke waste -US Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 120 Nevada desert is promising site for nuke waste -US By Patrick Connole WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday that Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert was a ``promising'' site for becoming the nation's permanent nuclear waste repository, pending more research on its safety. By calling it ``promising,'' the agency rejected pleas from environmental groups to disqualify Yucca Mountain. Those groups have cited research showing that groundwater could be contaminated by radioactive waste during the thousands of years the nuclear fuel would remain highly radioactive. DOE released its first detailed analysis on the potential waste site in a long-awaited viability assessment. The agency said that if it were eventually approved, the site would cost some $19 billion to build and monitor. ``DOE believes that Yucca Mountain remains a promising site for a geologic repository and that work should proceed to support a decision in 2001 on whether to recommend the site to the president for development as a repository,'' the DOE said. For the site to be recommended, the agency said it must still demonstrate that a repository can be designed and built at Yucca Mountain that would protect the public and the environment. The waste site would become the home for some 70,000 metric tons of spent radioactive fuel rods from nuclear power plants, and additional waste from production of nuclear weapons. Currently, around 38,000 tons of spent fuel is being stored at more than 70 commercial nuclear power plants across the country, pending the resolution of a dispute over when the federal government must remove the waste for storage. DOE said uncertainties remained about key natural processes in the Yucca Mountain region, and over preliminary design plans. To address the outstanding questions, the agency said environmental impact assessments would be conducted in the next two years before the final recommendation in 2001. The report said the advantages of making Yucca Mountain the repository site included: Location. The mountain lies 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas on unpopulated land owned by the federal government and adjacent to the Nevada Test Site, the longtime home for more than 900 nuclear weapons tests; Lack of water. DOE said water is the main way radioactive elements are transported from a repository, and noted that Yucca Mountain is in a desert, with an average rainfall of 7 inches; Groundwater. The nearest groundwater is isolated in a closed basis and does not flow into any any rivers that reach the ocean. The DOE said the natural geology and the preliminary repository design can keep water away from the waste for thousands of years. Using mathematical models, the agency said that for 10,000 years after the repository is closed in around the year 2045, people living near Yucca Mountain are expected to receive little or no increase in radiation exposure. The maximum radiation exposure was expected to occur after 300,000 years, the report said. DOE said the preparation of environmental impact statements in 1999 and 2000 would cost around $1.1 billion, and if approved, the construction and placement of waste would cost around another $18.7 billion in constant 1998 dollars. The first waste would be emplaced in 2010 and the last waste in 2033, and the site closed 10 years after the last waste is laid to rest. DOE said the total cost to complete the programme, including transportation of waste and storage would cost around $36.6 billion. The number does not include the $5.9 billion that has spent on the programme thus far.
