WASHINGTON -- Reprocessing and other alternatives to the storage of nuclear waste may be a diversion, and the Department of Energy should remain focused on developing a repository at Yucca Mountain, nuclear industry executives were told Wednesday.
"We can't allow long-term technology to divert us from our goal for central storage," said Steven Kraft, director of used fuel management at the Nuclear Energy Institute.
Advertisement
Kraft said prospects for new nuclear power plants are improving and he would not be surprised if the United States has 20 new plants by 2025. There has not been an order for a new nuclear power plant in the United States since December 1978.
Even if reprocessing is successful and the amount of nuclear waste is reduced, permanent disposal of some spent fuel still would be necessary at Yucca Mountain, northwest of Las Vegas, Kraft said at an annual meeting sponsored by the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management.
Jay Silberg, an attorney representing nuclear power utilities, said recycling nuclear waste is attractive to Congress because it's still uncertain when Yucca Mountain will begin storing radioactive spent fuel.
"There's not much you can do for recycling (nuclear waste) on $50 million," Silberg said, referring to $50 million in the $450 million budget for Yucca Mountain in 2006.
Chris Kouts, an Energy Department analyst who works on the Yucca Mountain project, said the department plans to submit a recycling plan to Congress by March 31.
Kraft and Silberg criticized legislation introduced last month by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., that would explore alternatives to Yucca Mountain.
Among other things, the bill would require utilities to move spent fuel into above-ground steel and concrete reinforced casks within six years after the waste is removed from reactors and placed in cooling pools.
Silberg said it would take money away from Yucca Mountain. "Hopefully, it will die a short, painless death," he said.
Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said the bill is a realistic alternative to Yucca Mountain and would update security at nuclear reactor sites.
"The cost of Yucca Mountain is approaching $100 billion, and Senator Reid believes too much money has been wasted on the project," Hafen said.
