Looking at Google Maps, it is 20 miles from Yucca Mt to the California border, which is where Death Valley starts.
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Not only that, but if the fuel is reprocessed to remove the fission products, those fission products usually have much shorter half-lives than the longer lived actinide heavy metals. Those actinides, such as plutonium, can be fed back into nuclear reactors to “burn” them up, thereby destroying them. That is the best way to deal with some kinds of nuclear waste. Transmute it into something else.
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The way the politicians killed Yucca Mountain was dirty politics as well.
If the politicians would make a decision, and stick to it, then the scientists and engineers can come up with a workable solution. But, as long as it remains a political football, the spent fuel will continue to be stored at the plant sites. As Steve points out, even when the plant is torn down and returned to greenfield status, the spent fuel is still kept there. A consolidated storage location at one or two sites in the US, even if considered interim, would be better for security. I don’t think the current situation is a huge risk, but at least a consolidation would be a step towards a final answer.
No that is incorrect. Death Valley does not start at the California border. You have the amargosa range on the California side which is between California and Nevada, then you have to go across the border through Amargosa valley to get to Yucca Mountain. So my mileage of 50 miles is correct.
The reason why it became a political football is because Texas , while George Bush was President, decided to stick it to Nevada. Texas was in the running also. But if you really wanted to have Nevada take it the solution would be simple. Provide a free College education for anyone living in Nevada and we would be glad to take it. But the real reason was that all the Corporations were trying to be sneaky and cheap and force Nevada to take it. Well that didn’t work so well did it. Reid, what a great politician. Pulled the rug out from under the Nuclear Corporations and left them hanging.
One more thing, Texas has 2 nuclear power plants and Nevada still has none. Take the trash to the people who have it or pay the price. Free College sounds reasonable.
I have no dog in the fight - but how is Death Valley not on the border with Nevada - it is 5 miles from Furnace Creek to the border. It is 11 miles from Old Stovepipe Wells to the Nevada border. Yucca Mtn is about 25 miles as the crow flies to the CA border. Of course, this is assuming Google Maps is at least close to accurate.
No problem Jim. I was wrong about the distance too but when driving it always is hard to measure. One thing I will say though, it is surprising they would put a dump next to a National park.
Enter the ingenuity of German politicians bent on finding “safe storage sites” in a hurry, with NIMBY in full swing:
In 1965, the extraction of potash salt in the Asse stopped. After it was shut down, the nuclear waste was officially put there for “research purposes” until the end of the 1970s. But in reality, the mine was a repository. And the facility has been dilapidated for a long time now; water flows into the tunnels, some 13,000 liters — every day. …
In 2010, it was decided that the barrels must be retrieved from the mine — and nobody wants to risk the complete collapse of the shafts which means the waste could come into contact with groundwater. It is a billion-dollar project. However, many experts doubt whether retrieving the barrels from the old shafts can be carried out successfully at all.
You are correct Mike. I didn’t realize that. Have lived in the area for years and didn’t think Death Valley National Park went into Nevada. I stand corrected. I even worked in the park when I was younger and thought it was all in California.
