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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Thursday, March 5, 2009 9:59 PM CST
Chu: Yucca no longer option for nuclear waste

By the ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Thursday the proposed Yucca Mountain site in Nevada no longer is an option for storing highly radioactive nuclear waste, brushing aside criticism from several Republican lawmakers.

Instead, Chu said the Obama administration believes the nearly 60,000 tons of waste in the form of used reactor fuel can remain at nuclear power plants while a new, comprehensive plan for waste disposal is developed.

Chu’s remarks touched off a sometimes testy exchange with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Obama’s rival for president last year, and provided the most definitive signal yet that the government’s attempt to address the commercial nuclear waste problem is veering in a dramatically new direction.

At a hearing, McCain and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the decision not to pursue the Yucca Mountain project threatens the expansion of nuclear energy because the government can give no assurance on waste disposal.

President Barack Obama’s first budget a week ago proposes scrapping all spending on Yucca Mountain except for what is needed to answer questions from the NRC on the license application “while the administration devises a new strategy toward nuclear waste disposal.”

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soybeanpod wrote on Mar 6, 2009 7:12 AM:

" I think many of us are trying to understand President Obama and his new policies. We know he has a tough row and should be given some slack right now.

But his policy of basically abandoning nuclear energy just does not make sense. It is clean, abundant, and just think of the money that has already been spent on Yucca mountain. And now we are going to research new disposal arenas $$ while no new construction is being started. Those wanting to start new plants want to know they can dispose of the spent rods. Now they can't. "

Cognitus wrote on Mar 7, 2009 1:33 PM:

" Yucca Mountain was controversial from the beginning as it appears to be located in an earthquake zone with a fault running through the area. They should have started looking for a better location many years ago. Remember this stuff has a half-life of thousands of years, so it needs to be VERY ISOLATED in a place not
likely to be disturbed by man or geological forces. "

Harry Potter wrote on Mar 8, 2009 7:45 AM:

" Why not put in in Mattoon. After all the fine leaders of our community are willing to put a potential hazard next to one of our grade schools. Besides that the city fathers would probably cough up some TIF funding for their efforts. Let's just hope Angela doesn't read this article and start getting ideas. "

medic57 wrote on Mar 8, 2009 5:17 PM:

" Why not try to develop Nuclear Fusion, no waste of any kind. "