nuclear-news

A federal report issued early in June said the U.S. has generated more than 82,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste, which it was storing at 80 sites in 35 states.

The amount of waste is expected to double by 2055, the Government Accountability Office said.

Appeals court dismisses nuclear waste suit, Macon.com  By NEDRA PICKLER and DINA CAPPIELLO – Associated Press, 1 July 11, WASHINGTON — The Obama administration won a legal battle Friday in the long-standing fight over where to bury the nation’s nuclear waste, but it’s not likely to be the last.  The federal appeals court in Washington ruled against South Carolina, Washington state and others that want to ship radioactive spent nuclear fuel they are temporarily storing to a repository 90 miles from Las Vegas at Yucca Mountain.

The appeals court ruled that it’s not an appropriate time for it to intervene because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission hasn’t made a final decision yet on the status of Yucca Mountain. So the court threw out the case.

But the court pointed out that the commission is required under the law to issue a final decision within four years of an application, which will come in 2012 for the Bush administration’s application for construction at Yucca Mountain. The court noted the commission’s decision can be reviewed by the court and that it can also be sued for failing to act by the deadline.

Other than Yucca Mountain, the United States has no long-term plan for disposing of its nuclear waste.

A federal report issued early in June said the U.S. has generated more than 82,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste, which it was storing at 80 sites in 35 states.

The amount of waste is expected to double by 2055, the Government Accountability Office said.

Meanwhile, the Energy Department has gone ahead with dismantling the project.

The Japan nuclear disaster put a spotlight on the problems of storing spent nuclear fuel in pools on the grounds of nuclear power plants. The spent fuel rods at Fukushima-Daiichi were likely damaged after the nuclear power plant lost power and the ability to keep water on the rods to cool them. In the United States, spent fuel pools contain much higher concentrations of radioactive material………

Read more: http://www.macon.com/2011/07/01/1617145/appeals-court-dismisses-nuclear.html#ixzz1Qw2UrNbH