December 2, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign today announced the release of a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzing the costs and challenges of the Yucca Mountain Project and alternatives.  The report, which was requested by Reid, Ensign and Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, shows that on-site and interim storage are less costly than Yucca Mountain.  The GAO’s report also states that the additional time spent in on-site storage would make the waste safer to handle, reducing risks should the waste need to be transported in the future.

“This report confirms what most Nevadans already know, that the President made the right decision to stop the Yucca Mountain Project and focus on finding alternatives to dealing with nuclear waste,” Reid said.  “In addition to saving taxpayers a lot of money, using dry cask storage offers a safe way to store the waste while the blue ribbon commission does its work to find a responsible, long-term solution.”

"As I have previously stated, on-site storage is currently the safest and most cost-efficient way to manage our nation's nuclear waste," said Ensign. "Yucca Mountain is dead because it has always been a failed policy, and this report illustrates just that."

The GAO report can be found on Senator Reid’s website at http://reid.senate.gov/newsroom/upload/20091202-gao-report-nuclear-waste-mgmt.pdf