Group Would Study Alternatives to Yucca
Mar 11 - Las Vegas Review - Journal
Sen. Harry Reid said Monday he is working to form a study group to come up
with alternatives to burying nuclear waste at the Yucca Mountain site in
Nevada.
"I am going to have a blue-ribbon panel to take a look at that," the Nevada
Democrat said in a meeting with reporters.
He did not give details other than he expected the group would be given a
year to report its findings.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu in recent appearances has endorsed the idea of
forming a commission to take stock of the nation's nuclear waste management
practices. President Barack Obama has declared he opposes storing
radioactive material at Yucca Mountain but has not advanced any
alternatives.
The Nuclear Energy Institute, the government relations arm of the nuclear
industry, also has suggested a commission as a way to form a "Plan B" if
Obama follows through on his policy.
Other possible ideas "haven't been studied at all; that is one of the
problems," Reid said.
The Obama administration in documents last month said the president's 2010
budget to Congress will contain funding to keep a Yucca Mountain
construction application alive before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission but
otherwise will "devise a new strategy towards nuclear waste disposal."
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