Resolving the Spent Fuel Issue for New Nuclear Power Plants

Abstract

Properly designed spent fuel pools plus dry cask storage will deal safely with the waste disposal needs of new nuclear power plants for another 50 to 100 years. Our obligation to future generations is not to pretend that burying spent fuel will make it disappear. We should keep this potentially valuable material in safe storage because our descendants may find new uses for it. Nuclear energy was not invented by mad scientists bent on world destruction. In fact, radioactive elements in the rocks of the earth maintain the warmth of the earth's interior, keep the tectonic plates in motion and drive a variety of other natural processes. The fact that nuclear energy can cause harm should not cause us to shun it any more than lightning should cause us to shun electricity.

Keywords: energy, nuclear energy, spend fuel, nuclear power plants, ecology

JEL Classification: K10, K32