Should Nuclear Waste be Buried at Yucca Mountain?

1
Should Nuclear Waste be Buried at Yucca Mountain?

• Jun Yong Bang
• Prof. Seth Stein
• Geological Science 107

2
About the Project

• The Yucca Mountain Project has conducted an
  extensive scientific effort to determine whether
  Yucca Mountain, Nevada is a suitable site for a
  deep underground facility called a repository.
• The purpose is to safely isolate highly
  radioactive nuclear waste for at least 10,000
  years.

3
Yucca Mountain

• located on federal land in southern Nevada
• occupies about 230 square miles (150,000 acres)
  of federal land
• No residents live in the area.
• Yucca Mountain is a ridge comprised of layers of
  volcanic rock, called tuff.
• There are no known natural resources of
  commercial value at Yucca Mountain

4
Geological Traits of Yucca Mountain

• Dry Climate - less than 7.5 inches of
  precipitation per year.
• Remoteness - surrounded by thousands of
  additional acres of land withdrawn from the
  public domain (5,470 square miles.)
• Stable Geology -it is highly unlikely that
  volcanoes, erosion, or other geologic processes
  and events would disrupt
• Deep Water Table -The repository will be located
  about 1,000 feet above the water table.
• Closed Water Basin - is located in a closed
  basin, which is an area completely surrounded by
  higher land

5
Brief History of the Project

• 1982- Congress established a national policy to
  solve the problem of nuclear waste disposal. (the
  Nuclear Waste Policy Act).
• 1983- Nine locations were selected for
  consideration as potential repository sites.
• 1987- Congress directed U.S. Department of Energy
  to study only Yucca Mountain.
• July 9, 2002- the U.S. Senate cast the final
  legislative vote approving the development of a
  repository at Yucca Mountain.
• July 23, 2002- President Bush signed House Joint
  Resolution 87, allowing to build a safe
  repository.
• The Yucca Mountain Project is currently preparing
  an application to obtain a license from the U.S.
  Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
•  

6
Radiation and Nuclear waste

• The atoms of certain heavy elements like uranium
  and plutonium emit a type of high-powered energy
  called ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation
  has enough energy to change the structure of the
  atoms it collides with.
• An atom that emits ionizing radiation is
  described as radioactive.
• Spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive
  waste will be placed at Yucca Mountain in solid
  form such as metals, ceramics, and glass with
  small amounts of radioactive gases.

7
Nuclear Waste

• Spent Nuclear Fuel Spent nuclear fuel is used
  fuel from nuclear reactors at commercial power
  plants, research reactors, government facilities,
  and from Navy vessels.
• To make electricity, nuclear reactors use fuel
  made of solid ceramic pellets of enriched uranium
  that are sealed in strong metal tubes.
• After three or four years in a reactor, however,
  the uranium pellets are no longer efficient for
  producing electricity and the assembly is removed
  from the reactor. After removal, the entire
  assembly (now called spent nuclear fuel) is
  highly radioactive.
• High-Level Radioactive WasteWith the end of the
  Cold War, the United States has been working to
  close and clean up obsolete weapons plants and
  dispose of nuclear weapons materials. This has
  created a need to dispose of highly radioactive
  material associated with weapons production. This
  material is called high-level radioactive
  waste.Until the late 1970s, the United States
  acquired materials for nuclear weapons by
  reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from
  government-owned nuclear reactors. Reprocessing
  is a method of chemically treating spent fuel to
  separate out uranium and plutonium. The byproduct
  of reprocessing is a highly radioactive
  sludge-like residue.

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The Repository Concept

• A geologic repository is required to keep nuclear
  waste away for 10,000 years.
• If the waste stays in solid form and remains deep
  underground, it is not harmful because layers of
  rock will shield its radiation.
• However, if enough water contacted the waste,
  over time it could break it down into tiny
  radioactive particles and then carry the
  particles into the environment.
• The concept for a repository at Yucca Mountain is
  to seal the waste in extremely durable containers
  called waste packages, then place the containers
  in deep underground tunnels.

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How the Site is Designed

• The waste will be sealed in containers called
  waste packages, then place the containers in deep
  underground tunnels.
• Drip shields made of another corrosion resistant
  metal will be placed over the waste packages.
• About one thousand feet of solid rock will be
  above the repository to restrict the amount of
  water that could reach the tunnels.
• The drip shields and corrosion-resistant waste
  packages would protect and contain the waste.

10
Tunnel Layout and Design

• The repository design includes more than 50
  horizontal tunnels for storing the waste.
• These tunnels would be excavated in solid rock
  about 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the
  mountain and, on average, about 1,000 feet above
  the water table.
• The tunnels would be 16.5 feet in diameter and
  about 2000 feet long and would be reinforced with
  steel sets, rock bolts, and wire mesh to prevent
  rock from falling on the engineered features.

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Stop the ProjectScientifically Unsound

• Yucca Mountain is a scientifically sound site in
  which to dispose of spent nuclear fuel
• Counterarguments
• Volcanic Tuff is not expected to provide an
  adequate barrier
• Even the DOEs own assessments indicate that
  Yucca Mountain is not capable of isolating
  radioactive waste for long time (Institute for
  Energy and Environmental Research )
• Under the threat of earthquakes
• U.S Department of Energy assessments assume that
  the metal canisters will provide adequate
  containment
• Evidence that water has welled up into the region
  according to a study by an independent technical
  group

12
Stop the ProjectJust Another Waste Dump

• The spent nuclear fuel stored in pools at
  reactor sites is too vulnerable to proliferation
  and terrorism to lean in place, so it just be
  moved to Yucca Mountain.
• Counterarguments
• Moving waste to Yucca Mountain will not eliminate
  risks associated with nuclear power plants, it
  would only create another waste dump.
• Shipping waste to Yucca Mountain will increase
  the terrorist threat associated with spent fuel
• Storage of spent fuel on-site for several decades
  is feasible and can generally be done relatively
  safely

13
Stop the ProjectBetter Alternatives

• If not Yucca Mountain, then what?
• Counterarguments
• The Institute for Energy and Environmental
  Research (IEER), a scientific institution with
  expertise in nuclear waste management published
  an alternative plan.
• In the short term, irradiated reactor fuel should
  be stored as safely as possible on site or as
  close to the point of generation as possible for
  an interim period (several decades).
• In light of the attacks of September 11, IEER has
  recommended on-site or close-to-site subsurface
  dry storage of spent fuel
• For the long-term, more research on various
  geologic settings is needed (ex- geologic
  disposal on land, sub-seabed disposal, and upper
  mantle disposal)

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Furthermore Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the Yucca
Mountain Plan

• (By Nuclear Age Peace Foundation)
• Accomplishes No Reasonable Objective
• Provides Minimal Protection
• Creates More Nuclear Waste
• Adverse Effects on Future Generations
• Earthquake Danger

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Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the Yucca Mountain Plan

1. Fifty Million People Endangered
2. Terrorist Attacks
3. Costly Accidents and Limited Liability
4. Adverse Impact on Water Sources
5. Violates Treaties

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Conclusion

• It is premature at this time to select actual
  repository sites or even to engage in a site
  selection process. Finding an appropriate
  repository site is a very difficult and complex
  process that must balance a wide range of
  considerations, including sound science, which
  has not yet been completed.

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• Thank You