GAO Finds Shortage of Money for Closing Atomic Reactors
Nearly half of the nuclear-reactor owners in the U.S. are not setting aside sufficient money to decommission the plants when they are shuttered, according to a report by the General Accounting Office. As a result, 42 plants might not have enough money to be safely shut down. "While happily pocketing their profits today, many plant owners are shirking their duty to save for tomorrow," leaving taxpayers potentially holding the bag for billions of dollars, said Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass), who requested the report. The GAO also found that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was failing to carefully track the money set aside for decommissioning and cleanup, but the NRC denied the accusations against both itself and the industry at large.
straight to the source: The New York Times, Mathew L. Wald, 03 Dec 2003
from the Grist archives: Safety dance—is the U.S. nuclear industry writing its own ticket on security?—by Shelley Smithson in Main Dish
Two senators push to ramp up nuclear energy
Nuclear companies face reactor design problems, ethics questions
Will South Carolina become the nation’s new Yucca Mountain?
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