Let's talk about nuclear waste disposal, since I'll have to talk about it anyway for my research paper.
With the recent raised-eyebrows concerning nuclear reactors around the world due to the crisis in Japan, it seems pertinent to address nuclear waste storage facilities.
Many nuclear power plants store their waste in giant indoor pools called "fuel pools." Operators must pump cooling water into the pools regularly so the waste does not overheat.
As of an article I read that was posted two hours ago, some investigation is being done into New England power plants. Most of them are storing much more nuclear waste than they were originially licensed for. For example, the Vermont Yankee Power Plant was originally licensed to store 600 fuel assemblies. Currently, it now holds 2,935. Obviously this raises some safety questions and concern--mainly IS IT SAFE to store than much nuclear/radioactive waste in one facility?
The NRC, or Nuclear Waste Commission, is apparently a bit more lenient than it should be. They are the ones approving these nuclear power plants' increased storage of nuclear waste, with their argument that it is not a safety hazard for the public. Their current estimation is that many power plants will be completely out of storage room for waste by 2015, which raises the question: what we will do with our future nuclear waste that we will inevitably keep producing?
Click here to read the full article I'm referring to
