Originally Posted By: Susan

People who like to think nuclear power is clean always want to bury the debris in someone else's state. You want it, bury it in YOUR backyard. (Hmmm... all of a sudden it doesn't seem THAT safe, does it?)

It's easier & cheaper to monitor and provide security to one large site than many smaller sites.

In addition it's desirable that nuclear waste be stored in an area that is stable for long periods, perhaps tens of thousands of years. Nuclear plants need vast amounts of water for cooling and are usually located on rivers or coasts and as such are unsuitable sites over long periods.

Yucca Mountain has another advantage: it's already contaminated, or at least in the test range used for nuclear bomb testing years ago. Using that site won't create any new long-term risk areas.

Injecting casks into the seafloor in front a subduction zone might be better but would be enormously expensive.