Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Containment Standard a Hot Topic

Jim Dawson asserts that “none of the parties involved [in Yucca Mountain] is advocating a radiation standard based on containment for hundreds of thousands of years or more.” As one of those parties, I can say that this statement is incorrect.

The groups involved specifically advocated for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard most protective of public health and Safety—that is, one based on the National Academy of Sciences recommendation of a peak dose compliance period, which figures from the Department of Energy (DOE) indicate is several hundred thousand years. The NAS study, issued in 1995, recommended “that compliance with the standard be measured at the time of peak risk, whenever it occurs.”

According to DOE’s projections, the peak risk to an individual from leaking radioactivity would occur about 300 000 years after closure of the dump. But recent research by the State of Nevada indicates that the metal storage containers can corrode and fail quickly in the Yucca Mountain environment. Without the estimated benefit of long-lived containers, the peak risk could occur in as little as 2000–3000 years.

EPA should revise its standard to encompass the time of peak dose. Limiting the compliance period to less than the time of peak risk threatens public health and safety for future generations. The Yucca Mountain project should not be continued if these standards cannot be met.