DOE unveils plan for aboveground nuclear waste storage

[struggle4progress]

Today: January 28, 2005 at 15:07:30 PST
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Energy Department unveiled plans Friday for an aboveground site to receive highly radioactive waste destined for storage at a national nuclear waste dump in southern Nevada.

Plans call for a 500-by-500-foot facility the department dubbed an "aging pad" that could hold up to 46.3 million pounds, or about one-third of the highly radioactive waste on its way to underground storage at the Yucca Mountain repository.

The department scaled back plans for building a facility to hold almost twice as much waste, Energy Department repository systems engineer Paul Harrington said at a nuclear waste issues conference in Washington, D.C.

The pad could be surrounded by a 300-foot barrier. Harrington declined Friday to provide details about security at the site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. <snip>

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2005/jan/28/012810401.html

[mn9driver]

1. "Aging Pad"? Right.

Low level waste can be "aged" I guess, since it commonly has a half-life of 50 years or so. The high level waste will still be lethal in 100,000 years. Hope they put up a really, really good fence.....

[struggle4progress]

3. Yep. The nuclear boys plan to move the waste onto the pad fast.

Then if Yucca Mountain fails to pass muster, the boys'll just laugh and point to the waste "aging" on the pad. It's the modern industrial version of busting kneecaps with a baseball bat.

[rzemanfl]

2. The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw this was:

"Bin Laden appoints committee to study the plans..."

[librechik]

4. More Rapture Science

we have a pile like that not far from here. It's called Shattuck, and it's a pile of low-rad waste covered with a tarp, and it's going to cost millions to remove. If they ever act on the Superfund order to clean it up. (bitter laugh)

Way to send more money to the defense contractors, Shrub!