Tom Udall: “nuclear utilities intend to keep producing nuclear waste, and with talk about creating new reactors this would only add…”

“nuclear utilities intend to keep producing nuclear waste, and with talk about creating new reactors this would only add to the growing waste problem. The Bush Energy Plan calls for doubling the number of nuclear reactors in the U.S. by 2040. Yucca Mountain is only designed to contain the waste from existing reactors. The GAO report concludes it would be premature for the Secretary of Energy to recommend Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository for 77,000 metric tons of radioactive waste because many technical issues remain unresolved. Energy Secretary Abraham recommended the site anyway. The report said the Department of Energy (DOE) is unlikely to achieve its goal of opening a repository at Yucca Mountain by 2010 and currently does not have a reliable estimate of when, and at what cost, such a repository can be opened. Two hundred ninety-three unfinished scientific and technical issues have yet to be resolved before the site can be opened. For example, additional study is needed on how water would flow through the repository area to the underlying groundwater and on the durability of waste containers which are needed to last tens of thousands of years. We should use sound science to solve these unresolved issues to determine if Yucca Mountain is really ready to receive nuclear waste.”