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By Bart Ziegler, PhD
June 27, 2023 (San Diego) --
When announcing that the Biden administration has committed $26 million to search for sites to store the nation's nuclear waste, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm raised more questions than answers.
During a press conference June 9 at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Granholm said the money would fund a national search to find communities willing to store spent nuclear fuel, including the 3.6 million pounds of deadly waste stored at SONGS.
She didn't say where the storage sites might be. So far, governors from New Mexico and Texas have said no.
We wonder how the waste would travel great distances to arrive at the so-called consolidated interim storage sites and how the transportation would impact communities along the way.
The DOE estimates it could take 15 years to open the interim sites.
What does that mean for the permanent disposition of 89,000 metric tons of spent fuel piled up in 35 states? Will the federal government deliver on its obligation to open a permanent repository during our lifetimes?
Given the extraordinary challenges of dealing with radioactive waste, which can remain deadly for hundreds of thousands of years, why does the federal government continue support nuclear energy development?
While Granholm's speech covered the What — that's the easy question — we continue to puzzle over the Who, When, Where and, in the case of continued reliance on nuclear energy, the Why.
During the press briefing, we appreciate the remarks and consistently strong advocacy of Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Diego).
“We finally have a plan when it comes to spent nuclear fuel across the United States,” Levin said. “Now we’ve got to execute on that plan.”
Learn more at www.samuellawrencefoundation.org
Bart Ziegler is president of the Samuel Lawrence Foundation in Del Mar.
The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
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