"NRC Commissioners Force Release of Yucca Safety Reports"

"Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have trumped the agency chairman and forced the release of unredacted safety reports on the proposed nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nev.

Key lawmakers from both parties confirmed today that they have received the reports, part of a 700-page study by the NRC staff to evaluate whether Yucca Mountain could safely store radioactive waste. Congressional committees are not releasing the full reports.

Republican Commissioners Kristine Svinicki and William Ostendorff and Democratic Commissioners George Apostolakis and William Magwood voted in March to release the information to key Senate and House members from both parties, according to a March 31 letter they sent to House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko, who voted against releasing the reports, has said the review of Yucca Mountain is incomplete."

Hannah Northey reports for Greenwire (subscription only) May 19, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"NRC Releases Redacted Draft of Yucca Safety Report" (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

"Exclusive: Congress Watchdog Warns NRC on Documents" (Reuters)

"GAO: Death of Yucca Mountain Caused by Political Maneuvering" (Greenwire)

"The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Site Lives on -- in NRC and Capitol Hill Infighting" (ClimateWire)

"Nuke Agency Under Fire for Confusion Over Yucca" (AP)

"Yucca Mountain Decision Faces Month of Criticism" (Tri-City Herald)

"Mountain of ... Bluster" (High Country News)

"Fukushima Disaster Deepens U.S. Turmoil Over Nuclear Waste Storage" (ClimateWire)

Editorial: "More Yucca Hypocrisy" (Las Vegas Sun)

Opinion: "A Chill Wind Off Yucca Mountain" (Human Events)