Yucca Mountain in Brief

This briefing, presented as a multigroup letter to Congress, argues against the revival of the Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository. The authors contend that the site is geologically unsuitable, the licensing process is flawed, and the project is technically and financially unworkable due to outdated design specifications and the need for unproven technology to meet safety standards.

• The Yucca Mountain site is described as geologically unsuitable for nuclear waste isolation due to its location in a high-risk earthquake area with volcanoes and the presence of fractured rock that allows precipitation water to infiltrate the waste location.
• The project's safety and regulatory history is characterized by the elimination of qualifying/disqualifying site factors by the Department of Energy (DOE) to preserve Yucca Mountain as the sole candidate site, despite evidence from Nevada governors that the site failed to meet minimum groundwater travel time requirements.
• The 2008 license application is considered obsolete because the disposal waste package concept was abandoned by the DOE. Current waste containers used at reactor sites do not meet the original specifications, and repackaging the fuel would cause significant expense and worker exposure.
• To meet radiation protection standards, the DOE planned the installation of 11,500 titanium drip shields, an unproven technology estimated to cost between $5 billion and $9 billion (in 2018 dollars) during the final ten years of the repository's 100-year operating life.
• Reviving the project would require substantial immediate and long-term funding, including at least $2 billion to complete the licensing process and over $1 billion (2008 dollars) per year for initial construction, alongside the construction of a new 300-plus mile rail line.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2019). Yucca Mountain in Brief. https://www.eesi.org/files/Letter_to_Congress-Yucca_Mountain_in_Brief.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Yucca Mountain in Brief. 2019. https://www.eesi.org/files/Letter_to_Congress-Yucca_Mountain_in_Brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Yucca Mountain in Brief |date=12 March 2019 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/Letter_to_Congress-Yucca_Mountain_in_Brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2019yucca, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Yucca Mountain in Brief}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/Letter_to_Congress-Yucca_Mountain_in_Brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }