Nuclear waste, the hazardous byproduct of nuclear energy and weapons, poses a serious health risk. The U.S. has over 71,000 tons of nuclear waste without a permanent disposal solution. High-level waste like plutonium remains lethal for thousands of years. Despite decades of awareness and the proposed Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada, there's still no consensus on a permanent storage site, leaving waste at temporary sites prone to leaks and accidents. This ongoing issue requires urgent attention to prevent future crises.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The US has over 71,000 tons of nuclear waste stored at its 104 reactors.
2. If all the spent fuel rods are put together, they would form a pile as big as a football field and over 20 feet tall.
3. The US also has over 100 million gallons of hazardous liquid waste from producing nuclear weapons.
4. One out of three Americans live within 50 miles of high-level nuclear waste.
5. Plutonium-239 has a half-life of about 24,000 years.
6. It takes 10 half-lives for plutonium to become harmless, which is about 240,000 years.
7. The US government has been trying to find a permanent storage facility for nuclear waste since the 1950s.
8. The National Academy of Sciences recommended creating a permanent storage facility deep underground in 1957.
9. The US has spent over $15 billion preparing the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada for nuclear waste storage, but it has not been used.
10. The Yucca Mountain site was designated as the sole candidate for nuclear waste storage by Congress in 1987.
11. The site has been deemed safe, but many Nevadans oppose it.
12. Harry Reid, a former Senator from Nevada, lobbied to shut down the Yucca Mountain project.
13. The US Department of Energy spends nearly $2.5 billion a year cleaning up the Hanford Site in Washington State, which is one of the most contaminated places in the Western Hemisphere.
14. The Hanford Site has had several problems, including explosions, toxic vapor releases, and over 1 million gallons of waste leaking out of its tanks.
15. The US government has paid out nearly $1.5 billion in compensation to thousands of workers who have become ill from exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals at the Hanford Site.
16. The Northeast has several nuclear power plants, including the Indian Point plant outside of New York City, which store waste in spent fuel pools.
17. A severe accident at one of these plants could have catastrophic consequences, affecting big cities, farmlands, and potentially entire regions.
18. The US has been struggling to find a solution to its nuclear waste problem for decades, and the issue remains unresolved.