U.S. Must Look for New Storage Options for Spent Nuclear Fuel, Says Blue Ribbon Panel
In a harsh critique of the nation’s current policy, or lack of policy, regarding spent nuclear fuel and other nuclear waste, a presidential Blue Ribbon panel said new storage options for nuclear fuel—in addition to Yucca Mountain—must be investigated, and that a new federal agency to deal with nuclear waste should be created. The committee also urged use of interim storage sites while a long-term repository or repositories are developed.
“Put simply, this nation’s failure to come to grips with the nuclear waste issue has already proved damaging and costly and it will be more damaging and more costly the longer it continues,” said the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future in a draft report released Friday.