Below the layers of Yucca Mountain
A retired USGS geologist shares his experience of working on the publicly misunderstood nuclear waste repository and its geology.

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High temperature fission chambers engineered for AMR/SMR safety and performance
A retired USGS geologist shares his experience of working on the publicly misunderstood nuclear waste repository and its geology.
U.K.’s NWS gets input from young people on geological disposal
Nuclear Waste Services, the radioactive waste management subsidiary of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, has reported on its inaugural year of the National Youth Forum...
DOE-EM sees nearly $2M in savings in naval reactor D&D recycling
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) has recycled more than 2,100 tons of noncontaminated metal debris since 2022 as it works to...
Energy secretary denies reports of DOE plans to axe Hanford’s WTP
Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued a statement on September 9 denying reports that the Department of Energy plans to terminate the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site in...
Savannah River waste-shipping equipment gets new life at Idaho
Demonstrating the beneficial reuse of equipment among Department of Energy cleanup sites, the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management transferred TRUPACT-III shipping equipment from its...
DOE awards contracts for nationwide LLW and MLLW services
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced yesterday the awards of five basic ordering agreements to conduct nationwide low-level and mixed low-level radioactive...
EPA approves expanded waste storage at WIPP
The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the addition of two new waste emplacement panels at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy’s geologic repository for...
Oyster Creek submits plan to terminate its NRC license
Holtec International has submitted a license termination plan (LTP) for Oyster Creek nuclear power plant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a milestone in the decommissioning of the boiling...
NWTRB schedules meeting on DOE waste management progress
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board announced it will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, August 27, to review information on the Department of Energy’s activities to manage spent...
Deep geologic repository progress—2025 Update
Editor's note: This article has was originally published in November 2023. It has been updated with new information as of June 2025.Outside my office, there is a display case filled with rock...
Trump expels all but one member of nuclear waste oversight board
The Trump administration has dismissed seven of the (formerly) eight board members of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, the independent federal agency tasked with evaluating the...