Steve Tetreault reports that an environmental report just issued threw another log on the fire over the controversial Yucca Mountain project. But to what fire is Tetreault referring? Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in the draft study that a nuclear waste repository at the Nevada site would yield only a negligible increase in health risk from radioactive particles that might leak into groundwater. In other words, the study says that the environmental impact from potential contaminants would be small compared to normal background radiation.
The nuclear safety agency plans public hearings in Washington and Nevada next month on the draft. The 173-page report, a supplement to an earlier Department of Energy study, triggered the latest scuffle between Yucca supporters and opponents, according to Tetreault.
The NRC performed the study with dwindling funds in its nuclear waste account after President Barack Obama mothballed the Yucca Mountain project, located about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, in 2010. Yucca supporters pointed to the report as clear evidence that the Yucca Mt. operations should be opened.
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., said the report continues to affirm that Yucca Mountain is the best option to manage spent nuclear fuel. A few officials who were friends of the Nevada senator which has fought the project for decades, were quick to criticize the report, but this time without basis.
Another friend of the Nevada senator says the report is simply a waste of energy and resources, according to Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., of course.
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