Yucca Mountain leak being probed

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2001

The Inspector General's office of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating a leak of documents on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage project.

The NRC's internal license review plan was somehow given it to a law firm helping the Department of Energy prepare its application to store wastte at the Nevada site. Department officials also apparently obtained the document.

NRC is an independent agency that approves or declines nuclear projects. A leaked document could unfairly help the Energy Department, which is supposed to be unbiased on whether Yucca Mountain should serve as the national repository for highly radioactive nuclear waste.

Nevada state officials and lawmakers oppose the site. A number of tribes are also fighting the project.

Opponents of the project have used the possibility of terrorist attacks in their case against the site. Environmental groups are now asking the NRC to review its safety standards in light of September 11's tragedies.

Get the Story:
NRC probing possible leak of Yucca plan (The Las Vegas Review-Journal 11/2)
Groups Seek Safer Storage of Spent Fuel (The New York Times 11/2)
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