Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, Nuclear waste repository in Nye County, United States.
Yucca Mountain is a planned nuclear waste repository in the Nevada desert, roughly 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas. The project features an underground tunnel network stretching about 8 miles (13 kilometers) and more than 450 boreholes drilled deep into the volcanic rock.
The United States Congress approved the project in 2002 and allocated more than 9 billion dollars for research and development. Work largely stopped in 2008 due to political decisions, and the repository has never opened.
The Western Shoshone consider this site part of their ancestral territory and have voiced their opposition to the repository. Their community views the area as spiritually important and tied closely to their heritage.
The site is closed to visitors as it lies within a restricted military testing area. The nearest major city is Las Vegas, from where you can view the desert region without being able to access the mountain interior.
Scientists tested the rock's reaction to heat by installing electric heaters in tunnel sections about 150 feet (46 meters) long. More than 6,000 instruments monitored temperature and deformation of the rock walls during these experiments.
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