Could Yucca Be Making a Comeback?

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The Trump transition team has reportedly asked the Department of Energy about the possibility of restarting plans to build a nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain, about 100 miles outside Las Vegas. But conservation activists say Trump is unlikely to succeed.  Matthew McKinzie, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, says supporters of Yucca Mountain point to the billions already spent on the project and say failing to secure our nuclear waste is not an option. He says the decades-old project is still in its infancy, lacking the actual tunnels to store the waste and the rail system to bring it in.  The Department of Energy first began studying Yucca Mountain, which is adjacent to the Nevada nuclear test site, back in 1978. It has faced stalwart opposition from representatives of both major political parties in the state.