Scientists Quit Review Board And Criticize Canister Design

摘要

A leading scientist is speaking out strongly on design flaws of storage canisters proposed for Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the nation's planned depository site for high-level nuclear waste. Paul P. Craig recently quit the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board and began to amplify his concerns about the shortcomings of the U.S. Dept. of Energy, calling it a "schedule-driven massive bureaucracy." Craig had been a member of the depository's scientific oversight panel for seven years. His January resignation came on the heels of the departure of Board Chairman Michael L. Corradini, who was criticized for conflicts of interest. Both departures came after a new technical review board report suggesting that radioactive leakage can occur at Yucca Mountain. The news alarmed DOE, which had planned to file an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commis-sion for the long-awaited project's approval by year's end.