Questions Arise about Proposal to Allow Nuclear Waste to be Disposed in Landfills

摘要

Scientists and advocates are raising concerns about a proposed relaxation on regulations for disposing of nuclear waste, saying that the government should halt the proposal as the scientific community focuses on the coronavirus. A March 6 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposal would allow for the disposal of some nuclear waste in municipal landfills, rather than a licensed facility. Advocates say the proposal could put public health at risk, pushing the NRC to give the public more time to weigh in. "What they're trying to do is prop up a failing industry so that the cost of decommissioning these [nuclear] reactors is reduced so you don't have to send it to a place that is expensive because it's designed to safely handle it," said Dan Hirsch, the former director of the University of California, Santa Cruz's Program on Environmental and Nuclear Policy.