President Donald Trump’s efforts to ramp up nuclear energy capacity have raised the prospect of an increase in nuclear waste and drawn attention both to the failure of Yucca Mountain as a repository and to new alternative solutions.For years, nuclear advocates were hopeful that the nuclear energy industry would be able to store atomic waste in storage tunnels roughly 1,000 feet underground at Yucca Mountain, located in the vast, barren deserts of Nevada.However, nearly 40 years after Yucca Mountain was designated the sole site for storing nuclear waste, the site remains incomplete and abandoned, forcing nuclear developers and nuclear power plant operators across the country to rely on temporary storage solutions.
And as Trump looks to quadruple domestic nuclear energy capacity by 2050, the question of permanent nuclear waste storage somewhere other than Yucca Mountain has become more pressing.Where is Yucca Mountain?
Yucca Mountain is located roughly 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas and just over 20 miles from the California border.The mountain, known for its long ridgeline, is composed primarily of tuff, a rock made of volcanic ash.Just over 1,400 people live in the Amargosa Valley, about 18 miles south of Yucca Mountain.
