Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Industry, Activists at Odds Over Security Risks of Interim Waste Storage

Industry, Activists at Odds Over Security Risks of Interim Waste Storage

Dry cask nuclear waste storage units at the James A. Fitzpatrick nuclear power plant in New York. Activist and industry groups differ on whether consolidating nuclear waste from 72 sites would make the material more vulnerable to an extremist strike (AP Photo/Holtec International). By Douglas P. Guarino
Global Security Newswire
WASHINGTON – Industry and watchdog groups are at odds over whether the Obama administration’s plan to move nuclear waste from power plants to a centralized interim storage location would increase the risk of a successful terrorist attack.
In a report released on Friday, the Energy Department endorsed a plan that would consolidate at one or more locations waste now stored at 72 civilian power plants and various nuclear weapons sites. The material would remain there in government custody until a permanent, underground repository is established. While specific details pertaining to such a site do not yet exist, the plan assumes one could be operational by 2048.http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/industry-activists-odds-over-security-risks-interim-waste-storage/

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