Nuclear waste: How the issue falls out
Unless Congress takes some action, utilities will be forced to provide onsite storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclera reactors much longer than they ever imagined. Congress`s failure to authorize the Department of Energy (DOE) to begin planning a centralized, interim storage facility and, equally important, to accelerate development of a permanent repository, means that spent nuclear fuel will remain in limbo at 73 reactor sites in 34 states. Today`s 30,000 metric tons of spent fuel from civilian nuclear plants will grow to 85,000 metric tons by 2033, according to DOE. The agency also must find a home for a future 70,000 tons of defense waste. There is a growing sense of urgency in Congress this year that something must be done about the nation`s nuclear waste problem. By 1998, 26 civilian nuclear units will have exhausted their storage capacity. By 2010 - the earliest DOE says it could open a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, provided the site proves feasible - 80 nuclear units will be out of storage space. At least half a dozen bills have been introduced so far in the 104th Congress, by both propoents and opponents of nuclear power. Recent events in Washington suggest this will be a hard-fought battle.
- OSTI ID:
- 115006
- Journal Information:
- Fortnightly, Vol. 133, Issue 8; Other Information: PBD: 15 Apr 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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