Earthtalk

I agree with Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s main points about nuclear power (letter, April 17) but he is in error on one issue.  It is not the nuclear industry that has failed to solve the nuclear waste disposal problem, it is the federal government which has collected over $24 billion since 1983 from power companies for the purpose of providing a disposal site.  The Department of Energy promised the power industry to have a site completed and ready to accept waste by 1998.  With the politically-motivated abandonment of the Yucca Mountain site, after decades of study and billions in expenses, President Obama’s “Blue Ribbon Panel” basically concluded that we should start over.  Nuclear power will never be viable without first dealing with the waste issue.