NWTRB: YM project needs overall strategy

The eighth report on Underground Exploration and Testing at Yucca Mountain was released by the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) on October 15. The report, directed to the US Congress and the Secretary of Energy, says that although the board has seen some improvements over the last four years in the Department of Energy's plans for exploration and testing at the site, it is concerned that important technical decisions about the design and approach to excavating the exploratory facility are being made open-quotes without sufficient analysisclose quotes in order to comply with overly optimistic schedules. The board fears that this could extend, rather than shorten, program schedules, as well as increase costs