WASHINGTON -- A university consortium operating from Oak Ridge, Tenn., has been given $3 million to review technical studies at Yucca Mountain for the next six months, the Department of Energy announced Friday.
The contract was awarded to the Oak Ridge Associated Universities and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.
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The development reflects an effort by DOE reorganizing the Yucca project to have fresh sets of eyes look over the science that has been performed for the proposed nuclear waste repository.
"By bringing in Oak Ridge for independent reviews to assess our technical work, we ensure the highest level of expertise and credibility as we move the project forward," said Paul Golan, who is acting director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
In a bid to ensure that evaluations are conducted with independence, the Energy Department will identify the aspects of Yucca Mountain research that it wants reviewed, and the consortium will line up experts at its universities and coordinate review teams, according to the DOE.
The Oak Ridge group is being given $3 million through September, and at least another $3 million will be made available for the fiscal year that begins in October, the department said.
The consortium consists of 96 universities in 29 states, including the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; the University of Nevada, Reno; and the Nevada-based Desert Research Institute. The group manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, a Department of Energy facility.
