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"Plans to bury America's nuclear waste inside Nevada's Yucca Mountain, a project that has long been the subject environmental and political opposition, appear all but dead. Funding for the nuclear repository was eliminated in President Obama's budget proposal released Monday. What's more, according to the Las Vegas Sun, the Department of Energy has moved to suspend licensing for the desert storage site. "

Some 300 people from 19 municipalities situated at the foothills of the Sumava Mountains took part in a 10km-long march copying the imaginary boundaries of the 300 hectare are on which the planned nuclear waste repository is to be built today. All 19 municipalities concerned have clearly rejected the repository in referenda or self-rule bodies´ resolutions, Chanovice mayor Petr Klasek told CTK. The project is also resolutely opposed by the civic association Nuclear waste - thank you, we do not want it! that has about 5000 members. The Czech Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SURAO) has proposed six localities in the area between Chanovice and Pacejov for the possible nuclear waste repository.

Some 300 people from 19 municipalities situated at the foothills of the Sumava Mountains took part in a 10km-long march copying the imaginary boundaries of the 300 hectare are on which the planned nuclear waste repository is to be built today. All 19 municipalities concerned have clearly rejected the repository in referenda or self-rule bodies´ resolutions, Chanovice mayor Petr Klasek told CTK. The project is also resolutely opposed by the civic association Nuclear waste - thank you, we do not want it! that has about 5000 members. The Czech Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SURAO) has proposed six localities in the area between Chanovice and Pacejov for the possible nuclear waste repository.

A government report released today said developing Yucca Mountain would cost twice as much as other options for storing nuclear waste, but that both interim or on-site storage alternatives would face long-term costs and potential political pitfalls. The report comes the day after a longtime advocate of nuclear power said during a speech in Washington that the Yucca Mountain project is dead. Nevada's lawmakers said the developments are more evidence that the proposed nuclear waste dump 90 miles north of Las Vegas will not be built. "This $100 billion dinosaur's days are numbered," Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley said in a statement. "It's long past time those who produced this nuclear garbage take responsibility for finding a real solution to this issue."

A government report released today said developing Yucca Mountain would cost twice as much as other options for storing nuclear waste, but that both interim or on-site storage alternatives would face long-term costs and potential political pitfalls. The report comes the day after a longtime advocate of nuclear power said during a speech in Washington that the Yucca Mountain project is dead. Nevada's lawmakers said the developments are more evidence that the proposed nuclear waste dump 90 miles north of Las Vegas will not be built. "This $100 billion dinosaur's days are numbered," Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley said in a statement. "It's long past time those who produced this nuclear garbage take responsibility for finding a real solution to this issue."

While the fate of America's Yucca Mountain appears to be sealed, Finnish company Posiva is moving forward with a cutting-edge nuclear waste storage facility that it claims will safely store radioactive waste in drums deep in the ground for 100,000 years. While challenges abound, a green light from the Finnish government expected by 2012 will make the site on Finland's Olkiluoto Island the first permanent nuclear waste repository in the world, opening the door for more to follow. The task is not a small one, however. First, Posiva carved nearly 16,500 feet of tunnels, collecting borehole samples along the way to ensure that the bedrock is solid and that water -- a nuclear waste repository's biggest enemy -- cannot get in. Then they had to figure out how to create the nearly 29-ton copper storage bins lined with iron and sealed with a weld so precise that it will hold through Finland's next ice age.

While the fate of America's Yucca Mountain appears to be sealed, Finnish company Posiva is moving forward with a cutting-edge nuclear waste storage facility that it claims will safely store radioactive waste in drums deep in the ground for 100,000 years. While challenges abound, a green light from the Finnish government expected by 2012 will make the site on Finland's Olkiluoto Island the first permanent nuclear waste repository in the world, opening the door for more to follow. The task is not a small one, however. First, Posiva carved nearly 16,500 feet of tunnels, collecting borehole samples along the way to ensure that the bedrock is solid and that water -- a nuclear waste repository's biggest enemy -- cannot get in. Then they had to figure out how to create the nearly 29-ton copper storage bins lined with iron and sealed with a weld so precise that it will hold through Finland's next ice age.

Prairie Island tribal leaders pledged Monday to keep their focus on nuclear waste management. Newly elected Tribal Council members said after being sworn-in that the fight over dry cask storage at the nearby Prairie Island nuclear plant would continue over the next two years. "Our community faces significant challenges in the coming years and we need to band together to make sure the tribe's interests are well represented," said Tribal Council President Victoria Winfrey. "Our continued battle to get nuclear waste removed from Prairie Island and to preserve our community's culture and heritage will be our top priority."

Prairie Island tribal leaders pledged Monday to keep their focus on nuclear waste management. Newly elected Tribal Council members said after being sworn-in that the fight over dry cask storage at the nearby Prairie Island nuclear plant would continue over the next two years. "Our community faces significant challenges in the coming years and we need to band together to make sure the tribe's interests are well represented," said Tribal Council President Victoria Winfrey. "Our continued battle to get nuclear waste removed from Prairie Island and to preserve our community's culture and heritage will be our top priority."

Department of Energy lawyers are forging ahead with their defense of a license application to build the nation's nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. They met a deadline last week for filing briefs on questions that Nevada's attorneys raised with a nuclear regulatory panel, which is tracking safety concerns about plans for turning the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, into a burial site for 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste. Most Popular Stories # Sahara closes two hotel towers due to low demand # Real estate analysts predict continued gloom for Las Vegas # CITYCENTER'S ARIA: THE CRESCENDO # Fatal pedestrian accident shuts down I-15 # Teen arrested in slaying of mother # NORM: Palms owner sees Gaga as Palms hit # NORM: Trump fires back about CityCenter # NORM: The Donald slams new megaresort # Armored truck heist nets $36,000 # Teacher arrested on sexual misconduct charges The briefs were filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board despite the Obama administration's stance that Yucca Mountain is no longer an option for a repository. An internal DOE memo that surfaced last month also stated, "All license defense activities will be terminated in December 2009." Nevada's top legal consultant, Marty Malsch, had hoped lawyers for the DOE would default by missing the deadline but was not surprised that didn't happen. "As things now stand, they are pursuing the license application by defending their position in the briefs they filed," he said Tuesday.

Department of Energy lawyers are forging ahead with their defense of a license application to build the nation's nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. They met a deadline last week for filing briefs on questions that Nevada's attorneys raised with a nuclear regulatory panel, which is tracking safety concerns about plans for turning the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, into a burial site for 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste. Most Popular Stories # Sahara closes two hotel towers due to low demand # Real estate analysts predict continued gloom for Las Vegas # CITYCENTER'S ARIA: THE CRESCENDO # Fatal pedestrian accident shuts down I-15 # Teen arrested in slaying of mother # NORM: Palms owner sees Gaga as Palms hit # NORM: Trump fires back about CityCenter # NORM: The Donald slams new megaresort # Armored truck heist nets $36,000 # Teacher arrested on sexual misconduct charges The briefs were filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board despite the Obama administration's stance that Yucca Mountain is no longer an option for a repository. An internal DOE memo that surfaced last month also stated, "All license defense activities will be terminated in December 2009." Nevada's top legal consultant, Marty Malsch, had hoped lawyers for the DOE would default by missing the deadline but was not surprised that didn't happen. "As things now stand, they are pursuing the license application by defending their position in the briefs they filed," he said Tuesday.

"President Barack Obama plans to zero out funding for Yucca Mountain and "take steps" to withdraw the project's pending license application, according to a preview of the 2011 budget that will be announced Monday. The president's intention to pull the license application -- a promise he made while campaigning in Nevada -- would be one of the most critical moves yet in stopping the proposed nuclear waste dump in Nevada."

"The U.S. Department of Energy today filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to withdraw its application for a license to build Yucca Mountain. The agency filed the motion "with prejudice," which means it believes the site is unsuitable and that it has no intention to reopen the license application process."

"The moment that Nevadans had awaited for decades arrived in a flash. There, popping up on computer screens in offices in Washington and Carson City, was the news that a slim, 15-page legal document had been filed, taking the biggest step yet - one in a series of giant leaps this year - in dashing long-running government plans for a nuclear waste dump in the desert 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "The United States Department of Energy hereby moves ... to withdraw its pending license application for a permanent geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev.," reads the opening line."

"German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen is reportedly considering stripping the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) of its nuclear waste duties to expedite storage at the controversial Gorleben site. Daily newspaper Die Tageszeitung reported on Tuesday that sources at Röttgen's ministry said he may take away responsibility for the final disposal of nuclear waste from the BfS by creating another government agency or privatising the process. The potential change resulted from a conflict between Röttgen and BfS President Wolfram König. Whereas Röttgen on Monday announced the Environment Ministry would end a moratorium on exploring possible storage at the controversial underground site at Gorleben in the sate of Lower Saxony, König has said the site fails to meet international safety standards. "

"Germany's plan to develop a site to store its most dangerous radioactive waste may require 25 more years before a decision can be made, the environment minister said. An initial phase of the plan will look into safety issues at Gorleben, a proposed repository for high-level radioactive waste from power plants, as well as the necessary approvals required from state and regulatory bodies, Norbert Roettgen said today at a briefing in Berlin. Germany, like the U.S., has struggled to find how to dispose of cancer-causing wastes from its 17 nuclear power plants. The country has said it may extend operation of some of its newest nuclear plants that produce yet more radioactive material. "

"Hazardous radioactive waste is building up at nuclear power plants across the country. For decades, the U-S government's only plan was to stick that waste out of sight and out of mind ... far below Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Recently, President Barack Obama scrapped that plan. Shawn Allee looks at where the President wants to go now: The current Nuclear Waste Policy Act A related article from The New York Times A recent report on fast-breeder reactor programs"

"Sara Barczak, program director for high risk energy choices at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said the lack of storage for nuclear waste is a national problem. But it is especially problematic in the Southeast, where there is a concentration of nuclear plants, she said. She said reactor sites never were intended to be "mini Yucca Mountains." "These were sites that were evaluated in the 1970s and 1980s to be homes for nuclear power plants for about 40 years," Ms. Barczak said. "They were never intended to store what is basically the most toxic waste known to man.""

"The Skull Valley Band of Goshutes asked a federal judge Monday to throw out two U.S. Interior Department rulings that killed their proposal to use their Tooele County reservation as a parking lot for high-level nuclear waste. U.S. District Judge David M. Ebell is expected to decide in coming months whether Interior Department officials violated their own requirements when, in September 2006, they issued one ruling rejecting a right-of-way request and a lease agreement for the temporary storage site. "

"France Uses Less than 1 Percent of the Natural Uranium Resource, Has Higher Waste Volume; Reprocessing Still Requires a Repository and Increases Costs, Proliferation Risks WASHINGTON, April 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Contrary to some prevailing opinion, reprocessing would not eliminate the need for a deep geologic disposal program to replace Yucca Mountain. It aggravates waste, proliferation, and cost problems. The volume of waste to be disposed of in deep geologic repository is increased about six times on a life-cycle basis in the French approach compared to the once-through no-reprocessing approach of the United States. A new report by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), a nonprofit scientific research group, shows that France uses less than 1 percent of the natural uranium resource, contrary to an impression among some policy makers. The report has several recommendations for President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, which was created to address U.S. nuclear waste issues after the administration's cancellation of the Yucca Mountain program."

"President Obama has told his Department of Energy to stop developing the high-level nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain, but it's not that simple. A legal battle has developed with three locations filing suit to stop the withdrawal, arguing the Department of Energy doesn't have the authority to close down the proposed dump in Southern Nevada. Nevada and the Energy Department have joined to ask the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to withhold any rulings on the suits until the administrative issues are settled before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

"# After closing Yucca Mountain, President Barack Obama has set up a 15-member commission of industry, academic, and government experts to consider nuclear waste disposal options. # The major questions that the commission will consider are not new or unknown, nor are the answers to these problems. # Hopefully, the commission will motivate the country to finally deal with the toxic legacy of the nuclear age."

"The Department of Energy issued a record of decision for the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center in West Valley, N.Y., that will implement a phased decision-making process to continue the decommissioning and cleanup efforts at the site, according to a recent press release. The record of decision was published April 19 in the Federal Register. "This record of decision is a result of incredible teamwork with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, oversight from our regulatory agencies, and substantial input from our community and stakeholders," said Bryan Bower, DOE federal project director. "The completion of the site's environmental impact statement will put the West Valley Demonstration Project on a path to closure." The record of decision for the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for decommissioning and/or long-term stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center examined three alternatives for moving forward and chose a two-phased decision-making process. "

"A commission examining U.S. nuclear waste policies amid a plan to abandon a proposed repository will hold its next meeting at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site. The meeting will be July 14-15 at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation. Some Hanford waste has long been planned for disposal at a nuclear waste repository. However, the Obama administration wants to withdraw its application to build the repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles from Las Vegas."

Nuclear waste from France has been sent to Siberia for storage. According to news reports, over 100 tons of uranium were transported to Seversk. France's ecology minister has called for an investigation into the case. According to the French daily newspaper Liberation and Franco-German television broadcaster Arte, France's electricity company EDF has sent 108 tons of uranium to Siberia since the mid-1990s. About 13 percent of France's nuclear waste is stored in open-air parking lots near a nuclear plant in Seversk, said reports on Monday. EDF said it sends uranium left over from nuclear plant production in France to Russia to be treated so that it can be used again.

Nuclear waste from France has been sent to Siberia for storage. According to news reports, over 100 tons of uranium were transported to Seversk. France's ecology minister has called for an investigation into the case. According to the French daily newspaper Liberation and Franco-German television broadcaster Arte, France's electricity company EDF has sent 108 tons of uranium to Siberia since the mid-1990s. About 13 percent of France's nuclear waste is stored in open-air parking lots near a nuclear plant in Seversk, said reports on Monday. EDF said it sends uranium left over from nuclear plant production in France to Russia to be treated so that it can be used again.