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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)’s “final rule” for waste storage – not a solution

NRC Final Rule: Nothing More Than a Patch for a Broken System, The Daily Signal,  Jack Spencer / Katie Tubb / August 29, 2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted to finalize its “continued storage” rule, establishing a general recognition that onsite storage of spent nuclear fuel is safe for the short, long, and indefinite terms.

In the short term, the NRC’s decision recognizes that spent fuel at reactors can be safely stored on site until a geologic repository is available. This allows the nuclear industry to move forward with licensing activities, which had been postponed due to a 2012 court decision requiring the NRC to perform a more thorough environmental assessment of nuclear waste storage beyond the licensed lifespan of the reactors. Thirteen existing power plants and two fuel storage facilities will now be able to renew licenses to operate, and another 15 new reactors can move forward to obtain final licensing approvals.

But in the long term, the NRC’s decision is little more than a temporary patch for a broken system and removes any incentive to fix the real problem. The nation ultimately needs a viable nuclear waste management system, and any solution begins with geologic storage.

Over 35 years ago, the courts required the NRC to provide “reasonable assurances”—or a Waste Confidence Determination—that offsite storage would be available for reactors when their licenses expired or that nuclear waste could be safely stored on site until that point. Not long after, Congress charged the Department of Energy with the responsibility to manage nuclear waste from commercial nuclear power plants. And that is where the problem started.

The resulting government monopoly over nuclear waste management has turned scientific and commercial questions about nuclear waste disposal into a political circus. …….

September 1, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general