There is no issue more polarizing regarding the subject of nuclear power than nuclear waste and what to do with it. The United States has 103 nuclear power reactors at 65 plants in 31 states. Thousands of tons of radioactive commercial spent fuel are permanently stored at these reactor sites — about 74 percent of it in pools of water, with the remainder in dry storage casks. Can existing nuclear waste be managed safely — and do new, smaller reactors offer any hope in this regard?
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Nuclear Power, Part 3: Radioactive Waste
Posted by: Ned Madden June 21, 2013 05:00 AMThere is no issue more polarizing regarding the subject of nuclear power than nuclear waste and what to do with it. The United States has 103 nuclear power reactors at 65 plants in 31 states. Thousands of tons of radioactive commercial spent fuel are permanently stored at these reactor sites — about 74 percent of it in pools of water, with the remainder in dry storage casks. Can existing nuclear waste be managed safely — and do new, smaller reactors offer any hope in this regard?