Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 8-12 Subject: Science/Government

Storing Nuclear Waste

Nevada’s U.S. senators are about to unveil a major media campaign aimed at getting a dozen or so Republicans to vote against putting the nation’s nuclear waste dump in Nevada. The strategy is simple: show voters that tons of nuclear waste would be shipped right past their doors en route to Yucca Mountain, the Nevada storage site approved last month by President Bush after years of study.

Although the waste would be buried deep underground, the site is only 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada’s key resource. Polls show the vast majority of Nevadans don’t want the dump due to fears that spent fuel might someday leak into underground water sources.

The Nuclear Energy Institute has long advocated Yucca as the best way to deal with spent nuclear fuel. Project engineers say Yucca Mountain would cost an additional $58 billion to build if it opens on schedule in 2010. It would remain radioactive for 10,000 years or more. Utilities contend they are running out of space to hold the waste, and note that the nuclear waste law requires the U.S. government to build a national repository.

In this week's online lesson you will learn about the hot issue of nuclear waste storage and how best to manage it.

Yucca Mountain Project

Your first stop this week is Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the proposed site of America's nuclear waste repository. Visit The Yucca Mountain Project website, read the introduction on the home page, and then click About the Project and read. What are the two main sources of nuclear waste? Explain the purpose of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.

Click Why Yucca Mountain. What three characteristics make Yucca Mountain a suitable location for long-term waste disposal? What do scientists mean by "suitable"?

Go back and click History of nuclear waste program. What agency is responsible for finding a site, building, and operating an underground disposal facility? When was an underground repository first proposed?

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Next, visit the site of the U.S. Regulatory Commission and browse to the Radioactive Waste section. This agency regulates storage and disposal of low-level waste, high-level waste, and uranium mill tailings. What is the difference between these three types of radioactive waste?

Under Key Topics on the right, click Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel. From there click and read Spent Fuel Pools and then Dry Cask Storage. How much water is needed to shield workers from radiation? How long do rods have to stay in the pool? What are casks and how are they constructed?

Private Fuel Storage

While the U.S. Regulatory Commission works on developing a permanent disposal facility in Nevada, the Goshute Indian tribe in Utah is working on a plan for temporary storage of spent fuel. This service would alleviate some of the immediate need for relocating high-level waste. Browse to the Private Fuel Storage site and read the introduction. According to this page, why is nuclear energy safe  compared to coal power plants? Do you agree?

Click About the Project. Read this page and follow of the links listed below. Summarize the need for temporary spent fuel storage. Why is Skull Valley a good temporary storage location? How many storage casks can the proposed facility hold? How will casks be transported to the site? Is it safe to transport casks?

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