The U.S. Department of Energy began studying Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in 1978 to determine whether it would be suitable for the nation's first long-term geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Currently stored at 121 sites around the nation, these materials are a result of nuclear power generation and national defense programs.

The Department of Energy has submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to build the repository.

Yucca Mountain is located in a remote desert on federally protected land within the secure boundaries of the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada. It is approximately 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.