Bush Pushes for More Nuclear Power Plants

From the Associated Press:

Pushing for the construction of nuclear power plants, President Bush on Wednesday pressed Congress to send him an energy bill, though he acknowledged that even when he signs the legislation, gasoline prices at the pump won't fall overnight.

For once, I will have to agree with President Bush. We do need to start looking at designing and building new nuclear power plants. The technology has certainly advanced dramatically in the last 30 years. We need to start looking at new, innovative designs for nuclear reactors which can incorporate better environmental and safety concerns. This is certainly one method to reduce U.S. oil consumption for its energy needs.

But while I may agree that the U.S. should invest in nuclear power, I still have serious concerns with the safety and waste issues. Operation of nuclear power plants should still be regulated with strict safety guidelines for the public good The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should be given strong powers to enforce these guidelines. While I will accept some cooperation between the NRC and the nuclear industry regarding safety guidelines, I do not want the NRC to become subservient to the big nuclear power companies. I fear that if Bush pushes for nuclear power, he will place people in the N.R.C, and the Department of Energy, who would be friendly to the nuclear power industry and would kowtow to nuclear industry's corporate interest for bottom-line profits. For the development of nuclear power, I want a strong, independent watchdog keeping tabs on the industry. That will never happen under the Bush administration.

The second problem I have with nuclear power is simply the nuclear waste issue. The more nuclear power we generate, the more radioactive waste we produce. The radioactive waste has to be addressed. The Bush administration wants to store the radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and military bases at a long-term waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain. This is a short-term solution. The nuclear power industry, in conjunction with the federal government, will need to research and develop a long-term recycling program to reprocess the radioactive waste into new nuclear fuel to be used in the nuclear power plants. Once the fuel can no longer be recycled, then perhaps it can be safely stored in a long-term facility as Yucca Mountain. However, given the enthusiasm that the Bush White House has for recycling programs, such a recycling program for the nuclear industry will never be developed.