Did you know that spent nuclear fuel is the by-product of producing electric power at nuclear power plants? Currently the United States has over 70,000 metric tons of this waste stored at 121 sites across the country. This spent fuel waste is both thermally and radioactively hot, and is initially placed in "spent fuel pools" at the nuclear reactor sites to cool down. When the pools and on-site storage are full, the cooled spent fuel must be stored somewhere else. So, what should we do with all this waste?
In 1982, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act made the US Department of Energy responsible for finding a site, building and operating an underground disposal facility called a geologic repository. Yucca Mountain Repository is the proposed site to store spent nuclear reactor fuel and other radioactive waste. The repository is located within Yucca Mountain approximately 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The nuclear industry is pushing Congress for funding to establish Yucca Mountain as the nation's permanent storage site. If they are successful, 100,000 shipments of high-level radioactive waste will be transported through 43 states. As the "Crossroads of America" much of that waste would be transported through Indiana, which currently has no nuclear reactors. Click here to see a map of the nuclear reactor sites in the United States. http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/map-power-reactors.html
Supporters of the Yucca mountain project say nuclear energy is cheap and clean and the transportation of the nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain will be safe and secure. Opponents of this plan say Yucca Mountain is not geologically stable and that transporting nuclear waste across country will lead to nuclear accidents. So my questions to you this week is "Do you agree or disagree with the Yucca Mountain Repository as a place to hold our nation's nuclear waste? Do you think we should continue to use nuclear power? Why or why not?". Your answer must be 10 sentences minimum and is due Saturday, February 23rd by 6:00 p.m.
I have to say I disagree.Dumping the waste in the Yucca Mountains sounds a lot more harmful than helpful.I think that they should do a little more research on the con's and pro's of the situation. The government causes enough damage, they makes nuclear waste problems seem so minute. I think nuclear waste is dangerous and consider it to be far from clean. I think they need to put it underground or perhaps build some kind of dam for it. Were always disturbing mother nature. I just would hate for this decision to be made without realizing the worst case senarios.I think transpoting nuclear waste across the country is asking for trouble. They need undrground check points to store this stuff because nuclear waste is too dangerous to think about the consequences later just because were in a rush to store it!
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