Yucca Mountain: Nuclear Waste Repository
Step 1: My chosen approach
Looking at the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository as a permanent solution to the buildup of nuclear waste that has been around since the late 40s.
Considering potential environmental hazards and also the benefits of putting it in this specific location.
Step 2: Research
The United States has accumulated more than forty thousand tons of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive wastes from commercial, research, and defense activities with an estimated two thousand tons added every year. The materials are currently stored in thirty-nine states at 131 temporary aboveground facilities, requiring constant monitoring and maintenance. Worldwide, scientific consensus holds that deep geologic disposal, with robust engineered barriers, can best contain and isolate these materials from the accessible environment. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 established this approach as U.S. policy. If ultimately licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Yucca Mountain, in southern Nevada, could become the first U.S. geologic repository for such materials. The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to open the proposed repository by 2010 if a license is granted.(as of 2019 there is still no nuclear waste repository)
Between about fifteen and twelve million years ago, large volcanic eruptions deposited hot ash that solidified into the rock composing Yucca Mountain. The proposed repository would be built about one thousand feet underground and, on average, about one thousand feet above the water table in rock that has remained undisturbed for millions of years. For about two thousand feet under the mountain's surface the rock is very dry, or unsaturated, meaning its pore spaces are not completely filled with water. With low seismic activity and
Potential Environmental Issues:
Groundwater contamination. Yucca Mountain's climate is very dry, with annual precipitation averaging about 7.5 inches (190 millimeters or mm). About 95 percent either runs off, evaporates, or is taken up by vegetation. Overall, very little water infiltrates the mountain and reaches the repository level. The bulk of any water moves very slowly through the unsaturated rock. Some data, however, suggest that water may reach the repository level in a few decades by moving through fractures that are large enough to permit this. Therefore, the sophisticated computer calculations used to estimate the repository's likely performance assume the presence of such fractures and their impact. After water has infiltrated the repository level, it must move down through approximately one thousand more feet of unsaturated rock to reach the saturated zone. Only from this zone can water be pumped to the surface.
Earthquake activity. Southern Nevada has low to moderate seismic activity. Experts have analyzed potentially active faults within sixty miles of Yucca Mountain. Although scientists expect earthquakes to occur at or near the mountain, those working on the design of the Yucca Mountain repository think that with modern techniques, repository facilities can be designed and constructed to withstand the effects of earthquakes and other natural phenomena. Contributing to underground safety is the fact that seismic Cutaway illustrating natural and engineered barriers working together in an emplacement tunnel. Capillary action would cause most available water to flow around, rather than into, the tunnels. Federal law limits the proposed repository to seventy thousand metric tons of heavy metal "until such time as a second repository is in operation," unless the law is changed. ( From the Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy. (2002). Why Yucca Mountain? Frequently Asked Questions. Washington, D.C., p. 10.) ground motion diminishes with depth, so earthquakes have less impact deep underground than they do on or near the surface.
Other Nations' Approaches. Some nations using nuclear power do not have economical sources of fresh uranium to make nuclear fuel. France and the United Kingdom, for example, reprocess their own spent nuclear fuel for a second usage; they also do reprocessing for other countries, such as Japan and Switzerland. Current techniques for reprocessing involve complex chemical and physical procedures and actually produce additional radioactive waste. Most nations with nuclear power intend to build their own geologic repositories.
Benefits
In a desert location
Isolated away from population centers (Las Vegas, the nearest metropolitan area, is 90 miles away)
Secured 1,000 feet under the surface
In a closed hydrologic basin
Surrounded by federal land
Protected by natural geologic barriers
Protected by robust engineered barriers and a flexible design
Step 3: Analysis
The Benefits:
This would provide a permanent storage solution for all of the waste in a geographically safe location. Additionally, it would mean that we could build more nuclear power plants because we now have a safe place to store our waste besides in giant concrete and copper cask outside of the nuclear power plants. It is very far from everywhere, and will also create many jobs in the construction and maintenance.
The Down Sides:
After a few decades there is a chance that groundwater could seep through into the depository level, but with all of the overengineering that is going into this project there shouldn't be any water contamination. Additionally this will be a very expensive project, and one that will take multiple years to complete.
Conclusion:
With minimal realistic downsides this is something that needs to be built. If not here then somewhere else. America cannot move forward as a nuclear power plant power house without a safe way to store the nuclear waste. And as of right now this is our best and safest option. But without funding and without government support this will never happen.
Step 1: My chosen approach
Looking at the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository as a permanent solution to the buildup of nuclear waste that has been around since the late 40s.
Considering potential environmental hazards and also the benefits of putting it in this specific location.
Step 2: Research
The United States has accumulated more than forty thousand tons of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive wastes from commercial, research, and defense activities with an estimated two thousand tons added every year. The materials are currently stored in thirty-nine states at 131 temporary aboveground facilities, requiring constant monitoring and maintenance. Worldwide, scientific consensus holds that deep geologic disposal, with robust engineered barriers, can best contain and isolate these materials from the accessible environment. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 established this approach as U.S. policy. If ultimately licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Yucca Mountain, in southern Nevada, could become the first U.S. geologic repository for such materials. The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to open the proposed repository by 2010 if a license is granted.(as of 2019 there is still no nuclear waste repository)
Between about fifteen and twelve million years ago, large volcanic eruptions deposited hot ash that solidified into the rock composing Yucca Mountain. The proposed repository would be built about one thousand feet underground and, on average, about one thousand feet above the water table in rock that has remained undisturbed for millions of years. For about two thousand feet under the mountain's surface the rock is very dry, or unsaturated, meaning its pore spaces are not completely filled with water. With low seismic activity and
Potential Environmental Issues:
Groundwater contamination. Yucca Mountain's climate is very dry, with annual precipitation averaging about 7.5 inches (190 millimeters or mm). About 95 percent either runs off, evaporates, or is taken up by vegetation. Overall, very little water infiltrates the mountain and reaches the repository level. The bulk of any water moves very slowly through the unsaturated rock. Some data, however, suggest that water may reach the repository level in a few decades by moving through fractures that are large enough to permit this. Therefore, the sophisticated computer calculations used to estimate the repository's likely performance assume the presence of such fractures and their impact. After water has infiltrated the repository level, it must move down through approximately one thousand more feet of unsaturated rock to reach the saturated zone. Only from this zone can water be pumped to the surface.
Earthquake activity. Southern Nevada has low to moderate seismic activity. Experts have analyzed potentially active faults within sixty miles of Yucca Mountain. Although scientists expect earthquakes to occur at or near the mountain, those working on the design of the Yucca Mountain repository think that with modern techniques, repository facilities can be designed and constructed to withstand the effects of earthquakes and other natural phenomena. Contributing to underground safety is the fact that seismic Cutaway illustrating natural and engineered barriers working together in an emplacement tunnel. Capillary action would cause most available water to flow around, rather than into, the tunnels. Federal law limits the proposed repository to seventy thousand metric tons of heavy metal "until such time as a second repository is in operation," unless the law is changed. ( From the Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy. (2002). Why Yucca Mountain? Frequently Asked Questions. Washington, D.C., p. 10.) ground motion diminishes with depth, so earthquakes have less impact deep underground than they do on or near the surface.
Other Nations' Approaches. Some nations using nuclear power do not have economical sources of fresh uranium to make nuclear fuel. France and the United Kingdom, for example, reprocess their own spent nuclear fuel for a second usage; they also do reprocessing for other countries, such as Japan and Switzerland. Current techniques for reprocessing involve complex chemical and physical procedures and actually produce additional radioactive waste. Most nations with nuclear power intend to build their own geologic repositories.
Benefits
In a desert location
Isolated away from population centers (Las Vegas, the nearest metropolitan area, is 90 miles away)
Secured 1,000 feet under the surface
In a closed hydrologic basin
Surrounded by federal land
Protected by natural geologic barriers
Protected by robust engineered barriers and a flexible design
Step 3: Analysis
The Benefits:
This would provide a permanent storage solution for all of the waste in a geographically safe location. Additionally, it would mean that we could build more nuclear power plants because we now have a safe place to store our waste besides in giant concrete and copper cask outside of the nuclear power plants. It is very far from everywhere, and will also create many jobs in the construction and maintenance.
The Down Sides:
After a few decades there is a chance that groundwater could seep through into the depository level, but with all of the overengineering that is going into this project there shouldn't be any water contamination. Additionally this will be a very expensive project, and one that will take multiple years to complete.
Conclusion:
With minimal realistic downsides this is something that needs to be built. If not here then somewhere else. America cannot move forward as a nuclear power plant power house without a safe way to store the nuclear waste. And as of right now this is our best and safest option. But without funding and without government support this will never happen.