Yucca mountain - From 10,000 to 1-Million year compliance period
- President, ATP Services, Glenwood Springs, CO (United States)
Two plus years ago a U.S. Federal Court of Appeals (the Court) ruled that EPA had not followed the recommendation of the National Academy of Science (NAS) with regard to the 10,000 year period of regulatory compliance. In response to that ruling EPA went back to the drawing board in 2005 and issued a draft rule that it believed complied with the Court's ruling and the intent of the NAS recommendation. The result is a recommendation to cause there to be compliance out to 1- million years. It is the author's belief that thinking in terms of 1-million years is absurd, not based upon scientific information, and just results in yet another delay for an environmental program sorely needed by this country, especially in light of the nuclear power renaissance emerging at this time around the world. So, the Yucca Mountain Project is at yet another critical juncture. It is facing a decision to either clear the political and regulatory issues and move ahead; continue to be stalled costing the nation billions of wasted dollars; or be moth balled until a solution is reached. The Department of Energy has announced that waste acceptance will be delayed until at least 2017 and it is hard to comprehend why the project should continue to be funded at current levels. It is the author's opinion that only Congress can clear these obstacles so the project can move forward in a safe and efficient manner. This paper will present the history of the ever increasing compliance period for Yucca Mountain; the need to reevaluate the regulatory strategy; the events that have occurred in the history of man and geologically in a million year time span; the absence of a mechanism for enforcing such regulations; the approach other countries are taking on this issue; the absurdity of trying to protecting people thousand of generations in the future from radiation doses that our generation is already exposed to from mostly natural causes, and lastly proposes a rational compliance period and regulatory strategy. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9 - 332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21294611
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-07018; TRN: US10V0015040801
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM'07: 2007 Waste Management Symposium - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 25 Feb - 1 Mar 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; 14 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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