Source: BBC by way of Ontario-Geofish
Available Resources
Yucca Mountain – $32 Billion More
Thanks to Harold at the Ontario-geofish blog, I came accross this AP article that releases the first Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository cost estimate update since 2001. The US DOE now puts the cost of the facility at $90 billion, up $32 billion from that 2001 estimate. Of course that estimate is slightly deceptive. It covers the $9 billion already spent and 100 years of operation. Perhaps the bigger issue is funding has not been secured largely in part to the efforts of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat-NV). If a steady stream of money can be secured, the best case scenario for the facility is a 2020 opening.
I also found a neat blog called Yucca Facts that has a refreshing perspective on the facility that is pro-science if not necessarily pro-Yucca. They also have a commentary about this latest DOE announcement and some commentary on Senator Reid.
Geologic Hazards
Radioactive Waste Storage in Boreholes
On the Radwaste blog by Geoff, I read about Borehole Disposal of Sealed Radioactive Sources or BOSS. This technology, which is explained by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) consists of disposal of smaller quantities of radioactive waste in specially engineered boreholes 30 to 100-m (approx. 100 to 330-ft) deep in suitable geologic media. Read on for more info. (Diagram by IAEA)
Project Related
Yucca Mountain Solution for Nevada’s Budget Deficit?
The Center for Yucca Facts has presented a letter to the chairman of the Spending and Government Efficiency Commission (SAGE) of the State of Nevada recommending that an objective look at the proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository might show that it provides a solution to Nevada’s budgetary dilemmas. More after the break.