The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository

Yucca Mountain Yucca Mountain was going to be used as a nuclear waste repository It was supposed to be completed in 2010 and is in Nevada, just 80 miles north of Las Vegas but it was cancelled It was supposed to cost $63 billion It was approved by congress in 2002 It was cancelled in 2009

The Native American opposition The Yucca Mountain Repository was going to be on Shoshone Native American lands and there are laws prohibiting the government from using it since it has historical value to the Native Americans The Shoshone were worried about radiation poisoning that might leak out of the repository, which they already might get from the nuclear test site nearby, the Nevada Test Site

Human Effects The Shoshone reported an increase in cancer, birth defects, hair loss, and mysterious animal deaths These are all symptoms of radiation poisoning Information from: http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/kendziuk.html Picture from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_Mountain_nuclear_waste_repository