Examining America’s Nuclear Waste Management and Storage
PURPOSE:
- To examine the management of our nation’s increasing amount of nuclear waste.
- To highlight the challenges communities across the country face when dealing with nuclear waste.
BACKGROUND:
- Over the last four decades, the nuclear industry has produced 76,430 metric tons of nuclear waste – enough to cover a football field eight yards deep.
- In 1982, Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), which directs the Department of Energy to build and operate a repository for used nuclear fuels and other high-level radioactive waste.
- Despite the NWPA, the United States does not utilize one repository or storage site, leaving nuclear waste sitting at numerous nuclear facilities throughout communities nationwide.
Witnesses and testimonies
| Name | Title | Organization | Panel | Document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Anthony J. O'Donnell | Commissioner, Maryland Public Service Commission | Chair, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners | Document | |
| Mr. Chuck Smith | Councilmember, Aiken County, South Carolina | On behalf of Energy Communities Alliance | Document | |
| Mr. David G. Victor | Chairman, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Community Engagement Panel | Professor, UC San Diego School of Global Policy & Strategy | Document | |
| Dr. Edwin Lyman | Senior Scientist, Global Security Program | Union of Concerned Scientists | Document | |
| Ms. Katie Tubb | Policy Analyst, Institute for Economic Freedom | The Heritage Foundation | Document |