Are there features of Yucca Mountain that could make it a suitable site for nuclear waste disposal?
As early as 1957, the National Academy of Sciences recommended burying radioactive waste in geologic formation. After more than two decades of additional study, the Department of Energy concluded that disposal in an underground mined geologic repository is the preferred approach. Key to final decision will be the existence of long-stable geological formations and long-lived engineered barriers to isolate wastes. Optimum characteristics of a site would be high stability, no circulating groundwater, location where severe earthquakes or volcanic eruptions are highly unlikely, and deep enough to allow for buffers of the same rock above and below storage.
