The National Academies (NAS) released a report last week that says dry storage of aging spent nuclear fuel offers "inherent security advantages" over submerging the rods in pools at reactor sites. The fact that a sponsor, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), disagrees with that message is not unusual. What makes this report stand out is that the two sides spent 8 months negotiating a public version, and that the NRC preempted the academy by going public with a point-by-point rebuttal of the document while it was still under wraps. The episode is the latest illustration of ongoing problems between NAS and the government over handling of sensitive but unclassified data (Science, 22 November 2002, p. 1548).
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