Calls For Obama to Examine Nuclear Waste Alternative is Step in Right Direction
Nicolas Loris /
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Nuclear Energy Institute is calling on the Obama Administration to create a blue-ribbon commission to look at alternatives to the nation’s current approach to nuclear waste management.
While blue-ribbon commissions are often excuses for doing nothing, a commission in this case has substantial merit.
Nuclear energy is critical to meeting the nation’s economic, environmental, and energy objectives. Despite being affordable, safe, abundant and environmentally clean, significant obstacles stand in the way of a broad expansion of U.S. nuclear power. Central among them is overcoming questions regarding nuclear waste.
In reality, dealing with nuclear waste is not a problem. America’s nuclear operators safely and effectively manage the waste of their 104 operating reactors everyday. Problems crop up when trying to develop longer-term, more permanent solutions. But even this is a political problem, not a technical one.