In Tennessee, there is presently high-level nuclear waste stored at a site called "Sequoyah".
There are over 1,094 MTU of spent nuclear fuel onsite.
At Sequoyah, the waste is stored above the ground in pools and dry casks. At Sequoyah, the waste is 25 feet from the groundwater table…
Sequoyah is 14 miles from the city of Chattanooga and 14 miles from Chickamauga Lake.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Sequoyah was 99,664, according to 2010 U.S. Census data analyzed for msnbc.com, an increase of 13.8 percent in a decade. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 1,079,868 (increase of 13.8 percent). Cities within 50 miles include Chattanooga (14 miles to city center).
The city of Chattanooga has a population of Density: 1,150.5 people per square mile (2000). Age characteristics (2000)
Population under 5 years old: 9,449, 5 to 9 years old: 10,009, 10 to 14 years old: 9,811, 15 to 19 years old: 10,236, 20 to 24 years old: 12,114, 25 to 34 years old: 22,176, 35 to 44 years old: 22,610, 45 to 54 years old: 21,227, 55 to 59 years old: 7,673, 60 to 64 years old: 6,554, 65 to 74 years old: 12,203, 75 to 84 years old: 8,285, 85 years and older: 3,207
Median age: 36.8 years. City official say they would need help evacuating the city in the event of a accident or attack at the nuclear site, where so much nuclear waste is stored.
Contrast this with Yucca Mountain, which is in the desert in Nevada, there is currently no nuclear waste onsite.
At Yucca mountain nuclear waste would be stored 1000 feet underground, under a mountain in the middle of a desert. It is far from any population center.
In addition the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Sequoyah was 1 in 19,608, according to an NRC study published in August 2010
"At Sequoyah if an accident happens similar to what happened in Japan with Fukushima Daiichi and a meltdown occurs – we would be in serious situation", says Bob Vanderkamp of Charlotte, N.C. "A much more secure location for all that spent nuclear waste is Yucca Mountain."
As Congress and the Department of Energy wait, the radioactive waste in Tennessee and around the country accumulates…
It time we begin moving that waste to Yucca mountain… if for no other reason than all the people living near the site.
Robert Tilford
Charlotte, N.C.
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