Yucca Mountain

1
How safe are the shipments? ? Our national
experience (to date) 2,700 shipments 1.6
million miles 30 years No harmful release
of radiation ? Precautions escorts for
all shipments 24-hour monitoring
safeguarded schedule information
coordinated logistics with local law
enforcement agencies
Yucca Mountain
1983 ? Nine locations in six states selected
based on nearly 10 yrs. of research 1985 ? Three
sites chosen for intensive study Hanford, WA
Deaf Smith County, TX and Yucca Mt., Nevada 1987
? Congress directed DOE to study only Yucca
Mountain and stop if the site was found unsuitable
and Transportation of Nuclear Waste
Where is waste currently stored? ? Commercial
power reactor sites and some DOE facilities ?
urban, suburban, and rural environments ? 131
sites in 39 states
How will the waste be transported? ? In shipping
casks, by truck or train, that have been proven
safe in some of the following tests 30 foot
drop onto an unyielding surface equivalent to a
120 m.p.h. collision A 40 inch drop onto a 6
inch diameter shaft Engulfed in a 1475o F fire
for 30 minutes Immersion in 650 feet of water
for 1 hour ? Specifications Rail 70 to 150
tons, 18 feet long, 7 feet diameter Truck 24
tons, 18 feet long, 4 feet ? constructed of
stainless steel with lead and other shielding
materials
How much radiation could be released? During
Transportation ? A person 100 feet from the
vehicle moving 15 miles per hour, would receive
about 0.0004 millirem ? 5,000 to 12,500 times
less than on a roundtrip flight from L.A. to New
York (2-5 millirem). At Yucca Mountain Site ?
First 10,000 years little or no increase in
radiation exposure from the repository ? Maximum
exposure to occur some 300,000 years after
repository is closed ? Some people in the
Amargosa Valley could receive an additional 260
millirem per year ? Bringing their total
radiation dose to around 660 millirem per year,
approximately equal to the average in southeast
Washington
Why Yucca Mountain? ? Natural geologic
barriers ? Surrounded by federally owned land
and far from population centers ? Arid climate ?
1,000 feet both below the surface and above the
water table