Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, is urging U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu to preserve all scientific and technical research related to Yucca Mountain. In a letter sent today, Upton expressed concern with the Administration accelerating the project’s termination, fearing important documents and research gathered during the $10 billion, 28-year planning phase could be lost if proper arrangements are not made.
“Yucca Mountain remains our best and only option available to permanently store vast quantities of spent nuclear fuel and we cannot afford to lose any of the data gathered over the last 30 years,” said Upton. “It would be grossly irresponsible, and a waste of billions of taxpayer dollars, if invaluable research and data were lost as a result of the Administration’s haste to shutter Yucca Mountain. Considering the Yucca Mountain repository could get the green light in the future, it is imperative that the research conducted and billions spent over the last three decades are not squandered.”
In the letter to Secretary Chu, Upton writes:
Specifically, I fear that the accelerated pace at which this program is being terminated could cause much of the vast Yucca Mountain scientific and technical record to be lost. We cannot allow this to happen, and I seek your assurance that the proper steps are being taken to preserve these documents and records for posterity. This information, which was established through a $10 billion, 28-year effort, is the product of one of the most extensive research and development programs in our nation’s history. It is extremely important that this information be preserved and maintained to inform future decision-making on the management of spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste.
It is therefore troubling that the Department has not yet offered a plan to preserve and maintain the millions of documents, massive amount of data, numerous geologic samples and other scientific evidence compiled by the project. Such an important undertaking would require a significant amount of infrastructure to support the computers and facilities, yet there has not been any indication that these necessary steps have been taken. In fact, the Department has published no plans, and requested no funds, to make all relevant Yucca Mountain documentation publicly accessible, as required by the NRC. Moreover, I understand that the Department is planning to separate project staff and vacate project offices, opening up the possibility that no one will be left to preserve the scientific record.
