A draft report from the Blue Ribbon Commission said that the nuclear power crisis makes the need for a nuclear waste management program in the U.S. very important.

The commission’s Draft Report to the Secretary of Energy suggested seven key elements in approaching nuclear waste storage and disposal facilities, including forming a single-purpose organization to develop and implement a nuclear waste program; long-term support for research, development and demonstration on advanced reactor and fuel cycle technologies that may offer substantial benefits to available technologies and related workforce; and international leadership in addressing global non-proliferation concerns and to improve the safety and security of nuclear facilities and materials worldwide.

The report also said the waste program could be implemented using the Nuclear Waste Fund and the fee that every nuclear power plant operator pays into it every year.

The Commission noted in the report that they are not proposing any sites, nor are they suggesting that the site at Yucca Mountain is suitable or not for nuclear waste storage because they were not asked to consider those issues.

To read the full report, click here.

Subscribe to Nuclear Power International