These regulations delayed the opening of new nuclear plants during the early 1980s. Nuclear power became less attractive to energy companies in the 1980s. The problem of disposing of nuclear waste became the focal point for the industry. The escalating costs of waste disposal helped bring construction of new nuclear facilities to a stop. The problem of what to do with nuclear waste has proved to be difficult to solve.
Nuclear material is contained in fuel rods.
When spent fuel rods and other waste products fill the storage capacity at utility plants, the plants must either expand their storage capacity or find permanent off-site storage. Developing permanent nuclear waste sites is imperative because nuclear waste continues to accumulate. In addition, more than one hundred of the nuclear power facilities must be permanently shut down between 2010 and 2025 because their equipment and infrastructure will no longer be safe. This will entail removing most radioactive elements within each plant's nuclear reactor and then razing the entire plant. The federal government has encountered political controversy and public opposition when it has sought to identify potential permanent nuclear waste sites.