The Washington Post weighs in on Yucca

As the Nuclear Regulatory Commission prepares to rule  whether the Obama administration can withdraw an application for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository,  The Washington Post in an editorial today said not so fast.

President Barack Obama has made clear he doesn't want the project. But as the administration has appointed a panel to re-evaluate nuclear waste disposal methods, the newspaper questioned terminating the Nevada site -- "into which the government has poured $9 billion and more than 20 years of research" --  before finding out whether it meets NRC standards.

"Yucca Mountain is not perfect," the paper opined.  "And it is clear that any storage site will provoke a NIMBY pushback.  Technology might temper some opposition.....But no technology will obviate the need for a long-term geologic storage facility. Taking Yucca Mountain off the table without even seeing if it meets NRC criteria is contrary to the spirit of the commission and would mark the triumph of politics over policy."