That’s the question I posed to Ward Sproat, the DOE’s manager of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. His agency is in charge of the Yucca Mountain waste repository project in Nevada.
This is the classic “Not in my back yard” battle, even more understandable since Nevada was the site of nuclear weapons testing beginning in 1951. There were 100 atmospheric tests until they went underground in 1962, when 828 devices were exploded. Testing ceased in 1992, although the Nevada Test Site is still an active research area.
It’s easy to see why Nevadans are tired of the word, “nuclear” and object to the storage of thousands of tons of highly radioactive materials just 100 miles from the state’s major tourist attraction, Las Vegas.
Here is Mr. Sproat with his answer to that question, and other observations about Yucca Mountain and the future.
You may recall my interview with Bob Loux about Yucca Mountain and the Nevada point of view. It is available in three parts, listed below.
Yucca Mountain: The Nevada Case Podcast, Part One
