Yucca Mountain and Nuclear

Waste:Gambling with the future of

the human race

This is Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Scary Facts

Radiation from the bombs dropped on Hiroshima killed __________ people in a year

Scary FactsRadiation from the bombs dropped on Hiroshima killed _140,000_ people in a year

Scary facts

When full, Yucca Mountain

Will be ____________ more

radioactive than the bomb

dropped on Hiroshima

Scary facts

When full, Yucca Mountain

Will be _1,400,000_ more

radioactive than the bomb

dropped on Hiroshima

This is Las Vegas, Nevada

Scary facts

Yucca Mountain is ____

miles north of Las Vegas

Scary facts

Yucca Mountain is _80_

miles north of Las Vegas

This is Chernobyl, Belarus

These are children harmed by radiation at Chernobyl:

Scary facts

Radiation from the

meltdown at Chernobyl

nuclear plant was traced

as far as ___________.

Scary facts

Radiation from the

meltdown at Chernobyl

nuclear plant was traced

as far as North America.

To Recap: Yucca Mountain will be:

1,400,000 times more radioactive than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima

Home for the waste from 130 “Chernobyls”

80 miles from a major metropolis

Those aren’t even the most crucial reasons to

oppose Yucca Mountain…

But First:

What is nuclear waste? Nuclear Waste, or spent nuclear fuel, is the rods of uranium pellets that are no longer useful in nuclear reactors, but remain highly radioactive for tens of thousands of years, possibly more

Also some waste from weapons research and testing

1) Geologically/ecologically hazardous

2) Dangers of transportation/security

3) Suspect motives of those endorsing the project

4) Perpetuates cycle of nuclear power

4 Reasons:

Geological Hazards Earthquakes

Third most seismically active area in the U.S.

Located above an active magma pocket

Leaching of radioactive materials into water table

A touch of irony A June 1992 earthquake coming in at 5.2 on the Richter scale caused more than $1 million in damage to the U.S. Department of Energy building located just 6 miles from the Yucca mountain site

Transportation Dangers Highly toxic materials will be on trucks and trains traveling thousands of miles across the country

The routes are very public Terrorist dangers Risks of purely accidental incidents (i.e. crashes, derailings)

Security Dangers Material is extremely dangerous to humans for more than 10,000 years

A terrorist “holy grail”? Accidental exposure?

Suspect Motives The Government has already spent $4-7 billion investigating the Yucca Mountain project

Nothing has been built yet Yucca mountain is the ONLY site that has been investigated

Ominous future of Nuclear Power: Yucca Mountain will be full by 2035 and a new facility will be needed

Does NOT get waste out of cities, it still sits in cooling pools

Cancer rates are 5-10% higher immediately downwind from nuclear power plants