A federal appeals court recently reached a decision that
forces the country to reevaluate the environmental impacts of storage and
disposal of its nuclear waste. As a result of the decision, Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) will have to determine the safety and consequences of allowing
nuclear reactors to accumulate radioactive waste, incluing the potential
environmental effects of failure to develop a geologic repository.
“This is a game changer,” says Geoff Fettus, of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “This forces the NRC to take
a hard look at the environmental consequences of producing highly radioactive
nuclear waste without a long-term disposal solution.”
To learn more, listen to a report from NPR’s Christopher Joyce on the subject, and read the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.Circuit decision.