WASHINGTON`, D.C., Aug. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing 1 million-year public health standards for a planned radioactive waste disposal facility.
The EPA proposal is designed to protect public health for 1 million years at the Yucca Mountain, Nev., facility. Under the standards, people living close to the facility would not receive total radiation higher than natural levels experienced routinely in other areas of the nation.
"It is an unprecedented scientific challenge to develop proposed standards today that will protect the next 25,000 generations of Americans," EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Jeffrey Holmstead said.
The proposed standards set a maximum dose level for the first 10,000 years -- more than twice as long as recorded human history. To provide safety beyond 10,000 years , the EPA proposes a separate, higher dose limit based on natural background radiation levels.
The standards would also require the facility to withstand the effects of earthquakes, volcanoes and significantly increased rainfall, while safely containing the waste during the 1 million-year period.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is responsible for implementing EPA's standards and determining if the Yucca Mountain facility can be safe enough to contain nuclear waste.
