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DOE submits Yucca Mountain application

WASHINGTON, June 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Energy submitted an 8,600-page application Tuesday to store nuclear waste underground at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

The application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is another step in a process that has already consumed more than 20 years and $6 billion.

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The plan involves burying spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in tunnels underneath a ridge in the Mojave Desert, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

"This license application is the culmination of more than two decades of expert scientific research and engineering, and represents a major milestone for the department," said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the plan is a non-starter.

"While the DOE is trying to spin this as though it has submitted the application early, the truth is that it was supposed to be filed years ago. Yet, even with the extra time, this application is shoddy at best," Reid said. "The application, which includes designs that are only 35 percent complete, lacks critical information that cannot simply be overlooked. For example, just how would the Energy Department respond in the event of an emergency? We can't answer that question because the department doesn't even know."

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