Would a repository at Yucca Mountain protect public health and safety? Who is responsible for health and safety standards?
Under the Energy Policy Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for setting radiation protection standards for the Yucca Mountain repository. In 2001, the EPA issued a final safety rule outlining a 10,000 year limit on radiation containment at the site. Similarly, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) established 10,000 year compliance periods that DOE must meet in order to qualify for a license to construct the repository. Under these standards, the DOE is required to prove that spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste would be safely stored at Yucca Mountain for 10,000 years. However, in July 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. vacated the EPA’s 10,000 year standard. The State of Nevada had filed suit against the EPA, saying the 10,000 year period was both insufficient and illegal. The EPA had been required by law to base the safety standard on the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences. The Academy, however, said the radiation
