Nevada-site's Safeness for Nuke Waste Disputed

Reuters Wire Service reported that U.S. environmental and consumer groups on December 1 met with energy secretary Bill Richardson to ask that he subject a "viability test" of Yucca Mountain to outside scientific peer review and to open the selection process to public hearings.

The Nevada site is set to become the U.S.'s main national waste repository for 30,000 tons of accumulated spent nuclear fuel, mostly from civilian reactors.

Richardson reportedly requested the meeting after the release of a petition from seven environmental groups during the week of November 22. The petition asked the Department of Energy to disqualify the mountain site as a permanent repository

Participants leaving the meeting said they were pleased by Richardson's assertion that the viability study was not the final decision on whether to confirm Yucca Mountain as the permanent waste site.

Environmentalists support their stand with DOE research, which shows that rainwater that fell fewer that 50 years ago has been detected at the level of the proposed repository.

Further, they say DOE has evidence that large amounts of radioactivity would be released and contaminate the area's ground water over time.

The DOE, in a statement, said it was aware of the issues, but added, "It is premature to state that these matters are reason to disqualify the site at Yucca Mountain."