The United States has accumulated more than 100,000 tons of commercial nuclear waste, more than any other country, but a long-sought permanent repository remains unrealized and the nation relies on temporary storage not designed for indefinite use, according to a Wall Street Journal report featuring former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison Macfarlane.
Macfarlane, who led the NRC from 2012 to 2014, said in the report that the country fell behind on waste management after a plan to build a permanent disposal site unraveled. The temporary storage solutions currently in use were never engineered to last forever, the report said. Macfarlane outlined what would be required to finally construct a long-term geological repository for the radioactive materials.
The report, published as a video presentation on June 24, was produced by senior video journalist Michael Tabb. The Journal said the U.S. has more commercial nuclear waste than any other nation, yet the nation continues to store spent fuel at interim facilities originally intended as short-term solutions.
The failure to establish a permanent waste site leaves aging temporary storage as the only option as the U.S. nuclear fleet continues to produce spent fuel, with no clear timeline for a final disposal solution.