5. Real Cost of Nuclear : The Problem of Nuclear Waste

Ian Zabarte is the Principle Man of the Western Bands of the Shoshone Nation of Indians and works with the Native Community Action Council. He lives in Las Vegas, NV and has worked on nuclear issues for 30+ years.

We specifically talk about Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository, which is a proposed deep geological repository storage facility within Yucca Mountain to store spent nuclear fuel, in other terms, nuclear waste and other high-level radioactive waste. The project was approved in 2002 by the 107th United States Congress, but federal funding for the site ended in 2011. With no federal funding it’s up to the NRC and DOE but there has not been a final decision on the repository license application. The project has encountered many difficulties and was highly contested by the Western Shoshone peoples and non-local public. As of 2019 the status of the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain remains uncertain.

We discuss the significant impacts Yucca Mountain has for the Shoshone people, the significance of land and water for Indiginious people, what a nuclear waste repository is, the relationship between tribal governments and the federal government, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), and then what you can do to take action.

Contact and connect with Ian: [email protected]

Learn more about the Native Community Action Council: http://www.nativecommunityactioncouncil.org/index.html

Treaty of Ruby Valley: https://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/shoshone/ruby_valley.html

Yucca Mountain Resources: https://www.yuccamountain.org/ http://www.nativecommunityactioncouncil.org/Defend-Yucca-Mountain.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/03/yucca-mountain-congress-works-revive-dormant-nuclear-waste-dump/664153002/

https://www.nirs.org/radioactive-waste/hlw/

Radiation Exposure Compensation Act: https://www.justice.gov/civil/common/reca

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/947/text

HOLTEC: https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/07/halting-holtec-a-challenge-for-nuclear-safety-advocates/