Yucca Mountain

Yucca mountain is the site of a proposed repository for spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive waste material. Yucca Mountain is located in Nye County, Nevada, approximately 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The land is under the joint control of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Air Force, and the Bureau of Land Management. The proposed repository would occupy 230 square miles of high desert with no permanent settlements within 15 miles. Yucca Mountain was formed by several layers of volcanic rock deposited over 12 million years ago. The rock is identified as “tuff,” which is formed ash deposited from volcanic eruptions.

Yucca Mountain has been considered as a potential permanent nuclear waste repository since 1978 when the DOE began studying the geologic ...