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Delays in US Energy Dept: Nuclear Waste Panel

US Energy Dept: Nuclear Waste Panel Announcement Coming Soon
NASDAQ By Ian Talley, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRESWASHINGTON -(Dow Jones) 16 Sept 09
– The U.S. Department of Energy will soon make an announcement on a blue-ribbon panel to study how to deal with the country’s growing civilian nuclear waste, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.As part of a long-running rift over how to deal with the nation’s nuclear power waste, the Obama administration announced plans this year to cancel the Yucca Mountain waste repository site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.Although Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in April he would appoint a panel to determine the country’s future nuclear waste policy, there’s been no news since of who would be named and when the panel would be convened……………….

The Department of Energy won’t say what caused the delay, but some industry officials have said one of the difficulties could be the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which guides how such panels are appointed. The law – designed to ensure an objective and balanced representation of policy options – prevents the administration from stocking the panel with members who would likely reach the same conclusion………….

Industry officials say the delay in naming a panel adds to a history of setbacks for nuclear waste policy. It also complicates the licensing bottleneck for new nuclear power plants……………..

Secretary Chu has said that, once convened, it would take the panel about a year to complete its findings.

US Energy Dept: Nuclear Waste Panel Announcement Coming Soon

September 17, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, wastes