"The United States must urgently work to find a new central site to house its spent nuclear fuel and probe whether Japan's nuclear disaster has any safety implications for storage at the country's plants, a federal panel said on Thursday."
"The U.S. government has struggled with how to manage the 65,000 tons of radioactive waste produced by its nuclear reactors over decades and stored throughout the country.
Concern over nuclear waste has heightened since a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex last year, triggering the world's most serious nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
The Obama administration set up the panel, co-chaired by former Congressman Lee Hamilton and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, to find solutions to the issue after it shelved the controversial Yucca Mountain disposal facility in Nevada."
Ayesha Rascoe reports for Reuters January 27, 2012.
SEE ALSO:
"Revamped Search Urged for a Nuclear Waste Site" (New York Times)
"Federal Commission Urges Permanent Nuclear Waste Storage Strategy" (E2 Wire/The Hill)
"Lawmakers Prep for Nuke Waste Report Probes — And Maybe Bills" (E2 Wire)
"How To Find A New Nuclear Waste Site? Woo A Town" (NPR)
"Is Spent Nuclear Fuel Really Waste?" (Green/NYT)
