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EPA PROPOSES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR YUCCA MOUNTAIN

Release Date: 08/19/99
Contact Information:

        United States Communications, Education,
        Environmental Protection And Media Relations
        Agency (1703)


        Note to Correspondents
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1999
EPA PROPOSES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
STANDARDS FOR YUCCA MOUNTAIN



EPA today proposed environmental radiation standards for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain, Nev., repository which is being considered for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. These standards are designed to protect public health and the environment from wastes which would be stored and disposed in the underground geologic repository. The agency will accept public comments on today’s proposal for 90 days from publication of the proposal in the Federal Register.

Under the Energy Policy Act, the Department of Energy is responsible for the construction, management and operation of the potential repository. When EPA finalizes the standards, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will determine whether Yucca Mountain meets the standards and will be responsible for implementing them.



Yucca Mountain is located on federally-owned land in Nye County, Nev., about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It is the only site under consideration as a permanent geologic repository. About 90 percent of the waste proposed for disposal would be from commercial nuclear power plants. The remainder would come from defense weapons programs.



EPA will hold public hearings to receive additional comments on the proposal. Information on the hearings will appear in the Federal Register and on the web at https://www.epa.gov/radiation/yucca. An information line, 1-800-331-9477, is also available.

For more information, contact Dave Ryan at 202-260-2981.


R-99 ###