Yucca Mountain News Clips - Thursday, April 20, 2006

Yucca Mountain News Clips
Thursday, April 20, 2006
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April 20, 2006
Bigger repository backed in study preview

Yucca Mountain could be redesigned to hold up to 628,000 tons

By Steve Tetreault
Stephens Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- The planned Yucca Mountain repository could hold between four to nine times more nuclear waste if it were expanded and redesigned, according to an industry report previewed Wednesday.

Early results of an ongoing study indicate at least 286,000 tons and possibly as many as 628,000 tons of used nuclear fuel could be stored at the Nevada site, authors said at a briefing.

A reconfigured repository would dwarf the current legal limit of 77,000 tons. The study assumes the repository area could be doubled, and that storage tunnels could be grouped or carved into multiple levels of the mountain.

The study also is expected to stoke debate about a new Bush administration bill that seeks to lift the official capacity at Yucca Mountain and take other steps to speed repository development as a way to encourage construction of more nuclear power plants.

"These are numbers that are draining the blood from the faces of many people who say, 'Wow, that is a lot,' " lead author Mick Apted said at a briefing for members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's nuclear waste advisory board.

There are about 50,000 tons of nuclear waste stored at power plants in the United States, according to the Department of Energy. The Nuclear Energy Institute estimates about 313,000 tons of nuclear waste are stored worldwide. The World Nuclear Association reports high-level waste is accumulating at 12,000 tons a year.

The Yucca study is being performed by the Electric Power Research Institute, the research arm of the utility industry. A preliminary draft is expected to be published in May while analysts continue to delve into the topic, said John Kessler, the institute's high level waste manager.

Marty Malsch, an attorney who represents the state of Nevada in nuclear waste matters, said the capacities detailed in the presentation would position Yucca Mountain "to hold all the nuclear waste in the world."

Malsch questioned whether an expanded repository could comply with the federal nuclear waste law, principally requirements that limit the amount of decaying nuclear materials allowed to seep into groundwater.

Per Peterson, a nuclear engineering professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said he is skeptical of tiered designs for Yucca Mountain, as well as expanding the repository to a large capacity.

"DOE will be lucky to get together a baseline application for a 60 metric ton per acre repository for submission to NRC by 2008, and while there are maps showing up to 4,200 acres (at the site), only a tiny fraction of this area has been characterized to the level needed to verify that it is suitable for repository use."

Malsch said the study appears part of a nuclear industry drive to persuade Congress to lift the capacity limit at Yucca Mountain.

Industry officials have argued that at the current limits, Yucca Mountain would be fully subscribed by the time it is built, potentially holding up the development of new nuclear power plants.

Kessler told the NRC panel that researchers were conservative in their modeling, and assumed a "hot temperature" repository design, the same being considered by the Energy Department for Yucca Mountain.

DOE already has conducted limited studies on repository expansion, Kessler said. The department's environmental study for Yucca examined a 120,000 ton repository limit.

"We are not starting with a blank slate," Kessler said. "We think there is a good chunk of information available."

The Energy Department believes the 77,000 ton repository cap, which was set by Congress in 1982, is an "arbitrary limit," spokesman Craig Stevens said in an e-mail.

"We already know that the true capacity of Yucca Mountain is significantly greater, that's why we've asked for a change in the law," Stevens said. He did not comment on the research institute's study.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., thinks President Bush should be asked about expanding Yucca Mountain when he appears in Las Vegas on Monday, her spokesman David Cherry said.

"Congresswoman Berkley has already said that President Bush wants to make Nevada a global nuclear garbage dump and these findings only add fuel to the fire," Cherry said.

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Las Vegas Review-Journal
April 20, 2006

Repairs, upgrades planned at nuclear waste dump site

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department is planning about $100 million in repairs, new buildings and roads, a fire station, and other improvements at the site of the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, a department official said Wednesday.

The planned upgrades -- to facilities used by the 225 full-time employees who work at the site 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas -- are needed to repair equipment and buildings that have fallen into disrepair or were never completed because of budget shortages, said Scott Wade, director of the department's office of repository development in Las Vegas.

As the opening date of the project has been delayed, structures intended to be temporary have remained in use longer than planned, he said.

"We lack some of the basic emergency response capabilities, fire and such," Wade told a meeting of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's advisory committee on nuclear waste.

"Decisions were made not to complete some of the original design for those on-site structures," Wade said. "It was probably poor decisions that were made."

A fire in February burned down a trailer at the site entrance -- one of about 120 temporary structures in place, Wade told committee members. The fire, caused by a heating system malfunction, occurred on a weekend and had burned out by the time workers found it, but it underscored the need for better emergency response.

The closest fire engine is in Mercury, 45 minutes away.

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Las Vegas SUN
April 20, 2006

Report: Yucca repository could hold up to nine times more waste

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The planned Yucca Mountain repository could hold up to nine times more nuclear waste if it were expanded and redesigned - equal to about twice as much waste as is stored globally now, according to an industry report previewed Wednesday.

Early results of an ongoing study indicate at least 286,000 tons and possibly as many as 628,000 tons of used nuclear fuel could be stored at the Nevada site if it were reconfigured, authors said at a briefing.

That would dwarf the current legal limit of 77,000 tons. The study assumes the repository area could be doubled, and that storage tunnels could be grouped or carved into multiple levels of the mountain.

"These are numbers that are draining the blood from the faces of many people who say, `Wow, that is a lot,'" lead author Mick Apted said at a briefing for members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's nuclear waste advisory board.

The study is expected to stoke debate about a new Bush administration bill that seeks to lift the official capacity at Yucca Mountain and speed repository development to encourage more nuclear power plant construction.

Marty Malsch, an attorney who represents the state of Nevada in nuclear waste matters, said the higher capacity would enable Yucca Mountain "to hold all the nuclear waste in the world."

Malsch said the study appears part of a nuclear industry drive to persuade Congress to lift the capacity limit at Yucca Mountain.

The Energy Department believes the 77,000 ton repository cap, which was set by Congress in 1982, is an "arbitrary limit," spokesman Craig Stevens said in an e-mail.

"We already know that the true capacity of Yucca Mountain is significantly greater, that's why we've asked for a change in the law," Stevens said.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., thinks President Bush should be asked about expanding Yucca Mountain when he appears in Las Vegas on Monday, her spokesman David Cherry said.

"Congresswoman Berkley has already said that President Bush wants to make Nevada a global nuclear garbage dump and these findings only add fuel to the fire," Cherry said.

---Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com

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Las Vegas City Life
April 20, 2006

Special waste for a special place

The 'Fix Yucca' bill could turn the proposed nuke dump into an ultra-privileged, quasi-secret project

By Andrew Kiraly

The barrage of articles and TV news stories, the furor of activists, the arguments over bad science and outrage over fudged numbers, the ever-shifting timetable. You're probably damn sick and tired of hearing about the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain. Who can blame you? You poor thing. You've got a nasty case of Yucca fatigue.

The federal government feels your pain. In fact, they're trying to make it so you'll never have to think about Yucca Mountain again. You won't think about the nuke dump, presumably, because you won't know anything about the nuke dump. The Department of Energy wants to essentially turn Yucca Mountain into a self-contained, quasi-secret project that removes itself from the usual government purse strings and rules of accountability. It would have its own budget, its own safety rules, maybe even its own dedicated transportation line. Think of the recently unveiled "Fix Yucca" bill as a way to give nuke waste and the Yucca Mountain project the VIP treatment.

In terms of ballsiness, some observers say this latest move by the federal government ranks right up there with the legendary 1987 Screw Nevada bill, which singled out Yucca Mountain as the sole site to study for a national high-level nuke waste dump.

"What this bill is about is giving the DOE preferential treatment that no other applicant in the world or the U.S. would ever be entitled to," says Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects.

On April 5, the DOE sent its "Fix Yucca" bill to Congress, which was promptly picked up by U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. It seems the only thing missing from its package of provisions is a velvet rope and a beefy contingent of bouncers, as critics say the proposed legislation treats Yucca Mountain with an aura of privilege unprecedented for a government-funded project. Among the bill's features are some old tricks and new maneuvers such as:

* Guaranteed annual cash flow with no strings attached. Remember the Yucca project's money woes of recent years? This bill would end that by essentially taking the project outside congressional coffers and funding it annually to the tune of $750 million. No pesky, grandstanding congressmen to stand in the way with safety concerns or questions about science. Since the nuke dump would exist outside the budget, it would also exist outside of congressional scrutiny, critics say.

"It would essentially take the project off-budget, so to speak," says Loux. "They've tried to do this six, seven years in a row. They're not giving up."

* The bill also seeks to remove federal, state, local and even tribal authority over the shipping of nuke waste. Whether the waste arrived by dedicated rail or highway, Nevada would have no say in safety. "This is absolutely unprecedented," says Melissa Kemp, policy analyst with Public Citizen's energy program. "It takes away any kind of control and input role of the state and tribes over transport." She also says this provision flies in the face of a recent National Academy of Science report that advocated a central role for states and Indian tribes in moving waste. Of course, the bill also renders moot state and local air quality laws for the site as well.

* Nevada's water rights have proven a historic weapon in the fight against Yucca. If passed, this bill would override them. "It would pre-empt state water rights," says Loux. Traditionally, the state water engineer is armed with three questions: Is there available water for the project? Will the water be put to beneficial use? Is this use in the public interest? The bill forces the state engineer's to answer "yes" on those last two. In short, if there's water available, the Yucca project gets it.

* The Yucca Mountain site is so special in this bill, it would be exempted from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the federal law that covers all hazardous waste disposal. If you thought Yucca was just for nuclear waste, think again. This bill could make it an all-purpose dumping site. Nuke waste, heavy metals -- come one, come all.

In what might be taken as a final middle finger to dump foes, the bill proposes to supersize the dump, lifting the its 70,000 metric-ton cap so it might take even more waste, which dump foes see as a signal of more nuclear power plants on the horizon. On the bright side, Yucca critics predict a short life for the ambitious bill, but also sense something more sinister afoot. Several speculate that "Fix Yucca," in all its outrageousness, is merely a weather balloon to test the winds of resistance. They expect Domenici to craft his own law after gauging the response to this one. But at least one watchdog sees "Fix Yucca" as a dramatic last gasp.

"It's a last, desperate attempt to salvage whatever is left of a completely failed program," says Loux. "The DOE are the only people who believe this has any reasonable chance of ever going forward."

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KOLO
April 20, 2006

A Chance on The Hill

Kids You Should Know

Alana Adams

18-year old Kyle Johnson won a trip to Washington D.C. through the local grassroots lobby group, Citizen Alert, because of an essay he wrote about the federal government's involvement in Yucca Mountain.

Johnson spent a week in D.C. learning how to lobby and actually had the chance to do a little himself.

It's not an easy subject to tackle.

Even the Bush administration debates the use of Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a nuclear waste dump and it's capacity.

But, this senior at North Valleys High School decided to write about it's effect on the the state and who exactly should have a say in it's use.

It won him a free trip to DC and a chance to push his plan on the hill.

"It's really quite an experience getting to talk to all these big names in politics and high figures in society and have them listen to you and get your point across."

John Hadder, with Citizen Alert, says the essay contest gave the group a chance to reach out to younger citizens.

"This is the kind of leadership we hoped to foster in our community: to take on issues, to discuss it, to think about it, to talk about it with their friends."

Johnson says he does talk about these issues with his friends... although, he doe admit Yucca Mountain isn't usually among the high school gossip heard in the hallways.

But, he says he learned valuable information when he was the lobbyist.

If he does decide to pursue it as a career, he says he would do so proudly.

"It was a big thing for me, as a high schooler, to come out and share my beliefs because they know I am a future voter. They know I was 18 and I could sway my vote anyway."

Johnson says it's important for other young people to speak up, and listen to what's occurring around them in the community.

"We're the future. If we don't have open minds or a desire to take initiative or set any sort of precedence in the future, then we're pretty much lost."

Johnson plans to attend UNR next fall and major in theater and possibly add a second major in civil engineering before he graduates.

For more information about Citizen Alert, you can go to it's website at www.citizenalert.org.

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Tooele Transcript-Bulletin
April 20, 2006

EnergySolutions predicts demise of Skull Valley N-waste storage

Written by Mark Watson

Utah's political leaders are cozying up to Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions, which is on the move to becoming a world leader in nuclear waste management.

On Tuesday, EnergySolutions hosted an open house at its new offices in downtown Salt Lake City. U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett (R) and U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop (R) and other political leaders lauded the company's announcement that it plans to introduce the process of recycling high-level nuclear waste closer to the sites where it is produced. That plan would eliminate the need for transporting the waste and storing it in places like Skull Valley or Yucca Mountain, as has been proposed by the Department of Energy (DOE).

EnergySolutions CEO Steve Creamer said his company has acquired the technology from nuclear power scientists in Britain and plans to introduce that technology to the United States.

"There is interest all around the country for a recycling facility," Creamer said. "Because EnergySolutions is the only American-owned company with proven recycling technology, we plan to be a major player in the recycling industry."

"Our system has over a 30-year track record in England of successfully recycling spent nuclear fuel," Creamer added.

Over 95 percent of the spent nuclear fuel can be reprocessed and reused in nuclear power plants, he said. Currently, 20 percent of America's electricity is generated from nuclear power.

After major acquisitions in February, EnergySolutions evolved into a company that now employs 2,000 people in 40 states. Creamer said he anticipates that the recycling of waste from nuclear power plants could develop into a $20 billion industry and employ nearly 5,000 people. EnergySolutions operates a one-acre site in Tooele County's west desert where it disposes of low-level radioactive waste. Creamer said there would be no high-level nuclear recycling plants in Utah.

EnergySolutions is working with parties in several locations outside of Utah who have interest in a nuclear waste recycling facility.

The company used the open house, press conference and support of political leaders to pummel Private Fuel Storage (PFS).

"Recycling is the right thing for America and will make the PFS proposal for Utah obsolete," Creamer said. The PFS utility consortium has proposed using the Goshute Indian Reservation at Skull Valley as an interim storage site for spent nuclear fuel.

The company previewed a television commercial it has produced that basically states that PFS's plans are no longer needed.

Bishop said the idea of storing high-level nuclear waste above ground next to a bombing range is a stupid idea anyway. Bennett said he eventually supported the plan to store waste at Yucca Mountain, but with the new technology Yucca won't be needed.

"I didn't know we would get this far as fast as we have," he said referring to the technology being introduced by EnergySolutions.

The process of building recycling plants in the United States, however, may not move fast enough. Creamer said it could take as long as 15 years to have a recycling operational, eight years at the earliest.

PFS spokeswoman Sue Martin told the media that her company's nuclear power plant clients are not against recycling.

"But the fact is, we have the most viable interim solutions for storage at this stage," she said. Martin indicated that PFS and EnergySolutions would could end up working together. "It's odd to oppose us so publicly," she said.

On March 17, the DOE issued a request for interested parties to submit expressions of interest in support of the Global Nuclear Partnership (GNEP) Technical Documentation Program (TDP). The purpose of the GNEP TDP is to propose and evaluate sites which would be suitable for demonstrating advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing.

Earlier this year , Nuclear Waste Program Director Brian O' Connell told the Tooele Transcript-Bulletin that whether or not recycling becomes the norm in the United States, a permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel rods is needed.

"DOE needs to proceed with Yucca whether we proceed with a reprocessing scheme in this country or not. There are many technical, economic, political and non-proliferation hurdles to be faced, but in all scenarios we need a permanent repository," O' Connell said.

Jason Groenewold, a spokesman for Health Environment of Utah (HEAL) said EnergySolution's plans is like chasing fool's gold.

"The promises EnergySolutions makes cannot be delivered. Reprocessing has a very troubled history, not least of which is the fact that plutonium is showing up in the teeth of children who live near the reprocessing plant in Britain, which is the technology rights EnergySolutions bought and claims is proven," Groenwold said.

e-mail:mwatson@tooeletranscript.com

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Bay Area Indymedia
April 20, 2006

UCSC Student Assembly Resolution against UC Managed Nuclear Weapons Labs

by Students Against War Wednesday
ucsc_saw_web@lists.riseup.net

In addition to counter-recruitment, SAW is engaged in a number of ongoing campaigns, one of which is having our university system end their management of the Los Alamos and Lawrence National Laboratories -- which between them are responsible for the research and development of every single nuclear weapon in the US stockpile. Considering that the Bush administration reportedly refuses to take the nuclear option off the table for a possible conflict with Iran, this campaign is as timely as it has ever been. Below is the full text of a Student Assembly Resolution written by SAW members calling for the UC to end their management of the labs.

University of California, Santa Cruz Student Union Assembly RESOLUTION: University of California Sever All Ties with Nuclear Weapons Laboratories, Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Labs.

Whereas, the University of California, in partnership with the Bechtel Corporation, was awarded the management contract of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) on December 21, 2005 and continues to manage the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and

Whereas, the US Department of Energy´s Reliable Replacement Warhead program at LANL and LLNL effectively calls for the creation of new and modified nuclear weapons, which is in direct violation of the UN´s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and

Whereas, Bechtel, the UC´s new co-manager of LANL, has a long history of irresponsible business practices which fly in the face of human rights, such as the privatization of Bolivia´s water, collaboration with the CIA to politically and economically influence many regions of the Middle East, contracting with Iraq in 1988 to construct chemical warfare facilities for that country, participating in Iraq´s nuclear weapons program and accepting $10 billion dollar investments from the bin Laden family, and

Whereas, the US government came under international scrutiny for awarding Bechtel a $680 million-dollar, no-bid contract in 2003 to re-build Iraq, and

Whereas, the UCSC's Academic Senate voted overwhelmingly for a resolution opposing "unilateral U.S. military intervention in Iraq," and

Whereas, by 1982, every student government at every UC campus passed a resolution opposing UC ties to LANL and LLNL, and

Whereas, in 1983, the UCSC Academic Senate voted 48-2 in favor of a resolution calling for the Regents to cut ties to both LANL and LLNL, and

Whereas, in 1990, a UC Academic Senate survey found that 64.4% of UC faculty members supported the Jendersen Report´s recommendations to end UC management of the nuclear laboratories, and

Whereas, in 1996, a UCORP report found that the UC´s management of LANL and LLNL does not qualify as a “public service,’ that the classified research the labs engage in is “not appropriate for a University,’ that the UC´s management of nuclear weapons labs “does not contribute to human well-being,’ and that the University should terminate its management of LANL and LLNL, and

Whereas, we recognize that the University of California can and should use its´ power and influence as a respected public institution to adamantly condemn rather than participate in the violation of international law, the degradation of our environment, and the poisoning of Native American populations surrounding LANL, and

Whereas, we recognize that the University of California has the power to make a significant public statement against the proliferation of nuclear weapons on earth by withdrawing its management of LANL and LLNL, and

Whereas, we recognize that the University of California is not imbued with the power to influence the scope, purpose or use of the nuclear program at LANL, nor is the University of California imbued with the authority to morally or academically “guide’ the work done at LANL or LLNL, and

Whereas, we recognize that the University of California´s management of LANL and LLNL only serves to affix an “academic seal’ on the labs in order to legitimate the U.S.´ illegal proliferation of nuclear weapons, and

Therefore, be it resolved that this student body calls upon the UC regents to sever all ties with LANL and LLNL by formally exiting the Limited Liability Corporation now managing LANL and not participating in any upcoming bids for either of the labs, and

Be it further resolved that, because the separation from LANL and LLNL may be a lengthy process, in the interim, we call upon the regents to take the following steps to ensure satisfactory and responsible management of the national laboratories:

1. Ensure academic freedom and freedom of expression for all UC employees involved with LANL and LLNL by discontinuing UC employees´ work on classified research

2. Take serious steps to prevent and clean-up the contamination of the environment surrounding LANL and LLNL by stopping the expansion of the radioactive waste dump site of Area G at LANL, discontinuing all plans to establish a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain (a sacred site of the Shoshone and Pauite peoples), undertaking an outside, formal inspection of the environmental pollution and health hazards of both of the labs, and following through on all measures proposed by such a neutral report, and

Be it further resolved that, in the interim, we call upon this student body to create a Student Oversight Committee of the DOE laboratories and actively encourage other UC campuses to join the committee, and

Be it further resolved that we call upon the Regents to recognize this newly formed Student Oversight Committee as possessing the same power and authority as the Regents´ Oversight Committee, and

Be it further resolved that we call upon UCSC Chancellor Denice Denton to make a public statement in support of this resolution, the will of her student constituency.

saw.revolt.org

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Reuters
April 20, 2006

Three Mile Island shows US nuclear risks, rewards

By Jon Hurdle

MIDDLETOWN, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Four giant cooling towers loom over the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, reminders of the fears and hopes surrounding an industry that may help cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Two towers stand quiet, idle since a partial meltdown in a reactor almost 30 years ago in the nation's worst nuclear accident. Two others belch steam from an active reactor, providing cheap electricity to 400,000 homes.

Unlike the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine -- which will mark its 20th anniversary on April 26 -- no one died at Three Mile Island. But critics of atomic power raise concerns over potential terrorist threats to plants and say science has yet to provide an adequate solution for highly toxic nuclear waste.

Three Mile Island owner Exelon Corp. now wants to extend its operating license as part of an industry program to keep all 103 U.S. nuclear reactors going beyond their standard 40-year licenses.

New plants are also under consideration as companies hope to cash in on an expected 45 percent surge in electricity demand over the next 25 years and answer U.S. government calls to diversify sources for the world's top energy consumer.

President George W. Bush has said America is "addicted to oil" and called nuclear power a clean, low-cost alternative. Industry groups say its use can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, caused by burning coal and crude oil, and they point to polls suggesting growing public acceptance.

Yet for some people living near Three Mile Island, in the Susquehanna River area near the Pennsylvania state capital of Harrisburg, worries over a possible deadlier accident remain.

"How big is the explosion going to be? How are you going to get out?" Mario Lugo asked from the main street of Middletown, about 5 km (3 miles) north of the plant.

The 42-year-old airport maintenance worker said he has considered moving away because of his fear of an accident.

GROWING APPROVAL

Nationally, however, industry surveys suggest 70 percent of the public is comfortable with nuclear power, up from around 50 percent in the mid-1980s.

Approval rises to more than 80 percent among those living close to a nuclear plants, which pay high taxes to host cities, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) lobbying group.

"The contribution to the tax rates to the city and counties is pretty significant, primarily through property taxes which are the main instrument for funding public schools," said Mitch Singer, an NEI spokesman.

Nuclear power generates 20 percent of U.S. electricity, up from 3 percent in the early 1970s. Supporters point to France, which over the past 30 years has built 58 nuclear plants that provide around 78 percent of electricity, as a model.

Nuclear power is enjoying something of a rebirth -- 20 years after the explosion at Chernobyl seemed to herald its decline -- in a power-hungry world, worried about rising oil prices.

Last month, Russia and the United States called for the world to embrace nuclear power to guarantee stable supplies of energy and cut emissions of harmful greenhouse gases.

Selling the industry as safe has been tough, however, and companies have had to adapt to shifting concerns.

At Three Mile Island, operators now face rigorous training to prevent a repeat of the 1979 incident. No one was killed or injured during the accident, and subsequent tests show no rise in cancer rates, but confidence in nuclear safety fell.

Plants are pouring money into barriers, checkpoints, bullet-resistant guard towers and surveillance equipment following the September 11 attacks.

A 3-metre-thick (10-foot) concrete wall stretches across Three Mile Island, preventing unauthorized vehicles from getting within about 200 yards of plant buildings.

"Public opinion has turned around," said Michael Gallagher, vice president of license renewal projects for Exelon. "It was dark in the '80s but is now very bright. We have proved that we can operate the plants safely and efficiently."

Even so, spent fuel from U.S. nuclear plants is piling up, with over 50,000 tons (45,500 metric tons) stored at over 100 temporary locations in 39 states.

A government proposal to create a massive storage site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada faces congressional opposition.

"We're leaving a legacy of having to baby-sit this stuff," said Dave Hamilton, director of global warming and energy programs at the Sierra Club, a leading environmental group.

Others are troubled by the possibility that nuclear plants may be targeted by terrorists, or vulnerable to more traditional safety issues after three instances of employees sleeping or resting on the job at Three Mile Island in the last year.

"I don't feel safe -- you don't know what's going on," said Rosemary Gutschalli, 53, who has lived in Middletown for 40 years, after the dozing night shift operators were found.

(Additional reporting by Matthew Robinson)

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State of Nevada
Agency for Nuclear Projects
www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/
nwpo@nuc.state.nv.us
775-687-3744
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