Pros and Cons of Storing Nuclear Waste at the Yucca Mountains

Should Yucca Mountain be used to store nuclear waste?
With the imminent license renewal of the majority of US nuclear power plants and the insistence of the Bush administration to build additional plants, the need for long-term storage of nuclear waste is greater than ever. Current estimates have the nation's 103 nuclear reactors producing 84,000 metric tons of waste by 2035 (Hansen, 2001). With the current containers either close to or completely filled, the Department of Energy has chosen the Yucca Mountains as the permanent repository for nuclear waste. …