Every
aspect of the Office of Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management and the Yucca Mountain
Project is about protecting the health
and safety of the current population
and future generations, in Nevada and
across the United States. Our mission
is to develop a federal system for safely
disposing of highly radioactive nuclear
waste. In working to achieve this mission,
we emphasize safety and environmental
protection above all other goals.
For more than twenty years, we have
been focused on performing the necessary
scientific studies for determining
whether Yucca Mountain is a suitable
site for a deep underground disposal
facility (called a geologic repository).
During the course of this work, our
safety record has been excellent.
Based on our scientific studies,
in 2002, Congress and the President
approved Yucca Mountain for a repository.
Now, our primary goal is to obtain
a license from the U.S Nuclear Regulatory
Commission to construct the repository.
As we work toward licensing, we are
putting even more emphasis on safety
and quality. As a condition of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s
strict licensing requirements, we
must thoroughly demonstrate that we
can safely operate a repository for
nuclear waste while protecting people
and the environment.
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