Is there a nuclear waste storage crisis?
The nuclear industry claims that moving waste to Yucca Mountain will fend off an impending overflow of nuclear waste at the nation s nuclear reactors. But the fact is that nuclear power plants are not running out of on-site storage capacity for their highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel. To quote a former commissioner at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission: The important thing now is to recognize that there is no immediate crisis, that there is time to do this and to do a good and responsible job in terms of safety and security and to do it at a much lower cost to ratepayers. — Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Commissioner Victor Gilinsky, testimony before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, May 22, 2002. LINK: Victor Gilinsky, testimony before the U.S. Senate When nuclear fuel is removed from the reactor core it is normally cooled for at least five years in water-filled pools before it is moved. This cooling process is essential because the spent fuel
