FREE ESSAY ON YUCCA MOUNTAIN NUCLEAR WASTE

YUCCA MOUNTAIN NUCLEAR WASTE

Nuclear Waste
Although the government believes that Nevada is an ideal place for nuclear waste storage,
it is simply overlooking the obvious implications that would threaten both the
environment and the people of the land.
Yucca was suggested to be a waste repository along with several other areas some years
ago. This facility located at Yucca Mountain would house some of mans most dangerous
elements, like plutonium. As with the Native Americans political power played a key role
in the theft of their land. Nevada, having the least amount of political power has been
exposed to the same issue Native American's faced years and years ago. There was said to
be a handful of proposed nuclear waste sites that were supposed to be individually
examined for pros and cons, but after a laconic effort to examine each site some how all
proposed sites were decided to be dropped from the list of potential nuclear waste sites
except for Nevada's Yucca Mountain. It is also important to point out that the only two
potential sites for nuclear waste are on or near Indian lands. These facts show an unjust
system of decision made by the Department of Energy. The Yucca Mountain region is one of
the least populated regions of the United States and without strong political efforts
made it will eventually become a permanent nuclear waste village that all Nevada's
population will have to deal with and quite very possible be harmed by.
One of the most prominent problems with nuclear waste is the lethal factor it poses to
mankind. To properly understand the scope of the problem it is necessary to take into
account the detrimental health effects of these materials (Kuletz 84). The U.S.
Department of Energy estimates that as little as 10 millionths of a curie of plutonium if
inhaled can cause cancer in an average human being. But even with these alarming
statistics, officials are still willing to take the health risks of storing the waste in
a permanent storage facility at Yucca Mountain that in the long run could result in
millions of citizens being diagnosed with cancer. If they do end up storing nuclear waste
at Yucca Mountain in the end, the only victims will be the citizens of the United States.
Even with conclusive studies that are deemed un-conclusive by high paid scientists, the
government insists on killing it's own people with mass production of nuclear waste
pouring out nuclear plants everyday. Studies reveal these elements kill, yet the DOE or
Department of Energy changes science to fit into their master plan. 
In the grants Uranium Belt region, a major source of uranium mining, over a hundred cases
were reported of cancer and birth defects that directly relate to the nuclear materials
such as uranium. Not only is nuclear substance extremely lethal to mankind, but the area
of Yucca Mountain is said to have a incredible aquifer beneath it's desolated surface. If
the nuclear waste were to ever make its way into the vast water channels located within
the aquifer there would be complete devastation. At some specific spots on the nuclear
landscape underground streams emerge from below and reveal the extensive underground
water source in the Yucca Mountain are. It is noted in Kuletz's book on the numerous
interviews she had with Native Americans in the Yucca Mountain region that a lot of them
complained from thyroid cancer. Also many deaths have occurred in their families that
they accredit to the tests and nuclear waste. 
One must not only examine the effects that nuclear waste has Nevada's water supply, but
the adverse health effects when nuclear waste enters into our ecosystem and indirectly
into our food chain. As Kuletz points out, Scientists don't really know how the water
will flow through this environment thousands of years from now, how gases will move
through it along pneumatic pathways, and most importantly how stable the earth will be
(Kuletz 278). 
With the notion of a deep geological permanent waste storage facility it is difficult not
to imagine the effects seismic activity could have on a such a (death barrel) located
deep in the ground. In a world were weathermen have difficulty predicting what the
weather will be like tomorrow it is difficult to comprehend waste will be deep in our
mantle that is constantly changing and shifting as with the government always changing
and neither of the two being static. As an earthquake occurs the epicenter feels the
least amount of shock wave from the origin of creation. Which means that any deep
geological facility would have more traumas to it then effects felt on the earth's
surface by us. Not only could such a problem pose incredible health hazards to nearby
citizens, but the accident of an earthquake shattering or cracking the liner of a nuclear
waste facility could quite possible kill millions of Americans. When dealing with an
element that keeps the reputation of toxicity for 240,000 years I only feel one must
understand that such a wide scale accident could cause an epidemic problem. But of course
the DOE ignores the problem, maybe they know something we don't. If the rate of nuclear
waste continues to rise Yucca Mountain will be only the first of many lands claimed a
wasteland and deemed to become a waste repository. Although Yucca Mountain would receive
shipments of waste from states all around the country it is only fair to point out the
danger of low and high level nuclear waste being transported through our state could be a
killer.
If large drums of nuclear waste were continuously being carted into Nevada I feel that
any city in our state would not be safe to reside in if at any time an accident was to
occur with a vehicle transporting nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. If a plethora of
states across the nation are producing this nuclear waste I feel it isn't fair to put us
Nevadans in jeopardy from their waste. Maybe all states should have their own storage
facility for nuclear waste storage and deal with the health hazards themselves. I myself
would entertain the thought of moving from the state knowing that the nuclear waste could
be riding right next to me on the highway making it's way to Yucca Mountain.
I've asked myself what the answer is to this entire nuclear waste dilemma and I still
find it hard to decide what exactly should be done. Maybe research dollars should be
spent on devising a system to launch this deadly substance into space and therefore maybe
targeting the sun. If nuclear waste could be launched from earth into the sun, I feel
that would be the end of some of the problems. But beyond all of the theory's on what we
should do or contrive in order to rid our planet of these horrible substances, there
should be more effort put into who is actually causing the most harm. Let's start
pointing fingers and have names to speak of instead of saying they or DOE. I mean all
thought discussions with various people on the topic everyone is referred to as they. You
know they say it won't cause any harm, who's they? How about names so we can start
working on letting our voices be heard to the right people that are going to make the
most critical decisions to mankind.
I propose that if nuclear waste continues to increase at the estimated rate of 2,130 tons
of plutonium in our air supply by the year 2005 (Kuletz 86) our planet will eventually
become an entire nuclear melting pot. No one on this earth can escape it and things need
to be changed. If Nevada isn't the best site for nuclear waste storage then were is? Or
maybe, there is no best place; nuclear waste doesn't and shouldn't belong on our planet.

Works Cited
Kuletz, Valerie L. The Tainted Desert. New York: Routledge, 1998.