Cost Estimate Climbs 26% for Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Site
A new Dept. of Energy report projects that the cost of the Yucca Mountain, Nev., nuclear waste repository will be about $57.5 billion, up 26% from a 1998 estimate. The DOE report, released May 4, says that $7.1 billion of the $11.8-billion increase in expenses is for costs of waste packaging and fabrication of drip shields. The plan now calls for titanium drip shields and a third lid on the waste packages.
The $57.5-billion total includes $8.2 billion spent between 1983 and 2000 and stated in 2000 dollars, plus $49.3 billion in future costs from 2001 through 2119.