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President Obama’s nominee to chair the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. can learn all it needs to know about disposing of nuclear waste by looking at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad.
Allison MacFarlane, President Obama’s nominee to head up the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, made the comment at her confirmation hearing Wednesday, according to an article posted on the the Washington Post website today.
“I don’t think we even need to look to other countries for lessons [on how to handle nuclear waste],” MacFarlane said. “We’re the only country with a deep geological repository already up and running — and it’s in New Mexico.”
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future made a similar observation in January, when it released a comprehensive report on the thorny issue of nuke waste storage. I wrote about that report here.
Some in Carlsbad would like to see a move to store high-level waste in the area, citing high-paying tech jobs and science they think is now safe and sound. Anti-nuke foes in the state strongly oppose such a move. For now, with Nevada’s Yucca Mountain on ice, many pro-nuclear power advocates are taking an especially keen interest in New Mexico.
-- Email the reporter at mcoleman@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 202-525-5633
