The Bush administration wants to bury tens of thousands more tons of nuclear waste at the Yucca Mountain dump in Nevada than is now allowed - part of a package of new proposals meant to spur development of the long-delayed dump.
Legislation unveiled by Energy Department officials Tuesday proposes lifting the 77,000-ton storage cap on the dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas and allowing as much waste as the mountain can safely hold. That figure has been estimated by federal environmental impact studies at 132,000 tons.
Some 55,000 tons of nuclear waste are already waiting at utility sites around the country. Lifting the waste cap would postpone indefinitely the need for the Energy Department to find a site for a second nuclear waste dump, the department said.
The department also proposed dedicating money in a special nuclear waste fund, which is paid for by utilities, to the dump to try to ensure adequate funding. The bill also would allow federal officials, who hope to ship nuclear waste to the dump by rail, to pre-empt state and local transportation regulations.
http://www.forbes.com/business/healthcare/feeds/ap/2006/04/04/ap2647320.html
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