US Radwaste - More Questions than Answers
Channel: eon3
Date: 2014-12-14

What ya gonna do with all that hot stuff that will remain deadly for longer than human civilization has yet existed? Despite continuing industry assurances, more than 60 years into the 'Nuclear Age,' nobody really knows.  

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's annual Division of Spent Fuel Management (DSFM) Regulatory Conference, REG CON 2014, held Nov. 19-20 in Rockville, MD did little to boost informed public confidence about current radwaste policies or technologies, as these Q&A video excerpts show.  

A main issue that emerged from relentless questioning by SanOnofreSafety.org Founder Donna Gilmore is the lemming rush to move highly radioactive fuel assemblies out of overcrowded storage pools into dry casks without even considering the most robust cask design available on the international market. That poses a big danger to public safety, especially in highly corrosive seaside environments like California's San Onofre and Diablo Canyon nuclear facilities. 

Diane D'Arrigo and Donna Gilmore asked 'where are the NRC requirements to ensure adequate funds for replacement casks, given the recent NRC decision that waste may stay on-site indefinitely.'  See if you can find the answer in the NRC's response.

With the shutdown of the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear repository and the recent explosive failure of the WIPP nuclear storage facility, the low bar being set by the NRC for 'temporary storage' of the 63,000+ tons of radwaste scattered at various sites across the country creates a serious threat to both public safety, environmental health and national security.