Argonne — The Senate is on the threshold of an important
decision that will help safeguard America's energy future and
reduce the threat of nuclear weapons: approval of Nevada's Yucca
Mountain repository for disposing commercial spent nuclear fuel
and high-level nuclear waste. Today, used nuclear fuel and
defense waste are stored in 39 states. It is safely managed in
temporary storage, and there is broad agreement that it would be
better to place the material in a central repository. In that
vein, the administration has decided to take the first step
toward opening Yucca Mountain in 2010 by recommending this site
based on sound science and homeland security issues. The Yucca
Mountain repository is an essential first step in managing
nuclear waste if the nation is to continue to rely on its 103
operating nuclear plants to provide electricity. Such a geologic
repository is also an integral part of the nation's plans for
disposition of surplus weapons-grade materials. Research at
Argonne and other Department of