A starter tunnel for underground studies at Yucca Mountain is underway. Site characteristics to be investigated include seismic activity, the possibility of volcanism, groundwater seepage, and the risk of future human intrusion. Additional funding is appropriated annually by Congress to pay for defense high-level waste disposal. Total program costs . Spending to date .
Utilities are upset that only about half is being spent because of congressional budget restraints.
Various proposals have been made to circumvent that problem and allow repository studies to proceed more quickly. Current spending . DOE was required to study three sites for the Nation's first repository, primarily in the West, and also to identify candidate sites for a possible Eastern repository. Heavy disposal casks will constitute the primary barrier to radioactivity releases, with the physical characteristics of the mountain expected to back up the performance of the casks. EPA's general repository standards limit the amount of radioactive material that is likely to be released over 10,000 years, and restrict the annual radiation dose to any member of the public to 25 millirems.