Vermont Yankee is often criticized for “not having a solution” for its spent fuel. Actually, the nuclear industry has invested heavily in two solutions, only to be stymied by the anti-nuclear lobby.
First, billions of dollars have been spent to develop a nuclear waste repository in Nevada. For existing spent fuel that won't just go away if every power plant were to close tomorrow, Yucca Mountain would be the best, safest place.
Second, the U.S. could successfully reprocess spent fuel, which still contains up to 90 percent of its original energy. Like a used copper pipe, it can be repurposed for everyone's benefit, as happens in other countries.
Other energy sources also face serious, although far-less-publicized, waste problems. Every day, coal and gas power plants dump tons of “spent fuel” directly into the atmosphere, material that is still loaded with fine particulates and carcinogens. According to the American Cancer Society, these emissions are responsible for thousands of deaths.
Solar modules contain hazardous materials such as silicon tetrachloride, cadmium, selenium, and sulfur hexafluoride, a potent greenhouse gas. Indium, in solar panels, has been linked to pulmonary disease in flat-screen TV recycling facilities.
The renewable industry knows disposal is a problem but says nothing. What is surprising is that local “green” groups have kept silent, too.
Maybe Yucca could open a “solar panel wing” of its storage facility? If solar panels become as commonplace as their proponents hope, a solution to a huge waste-storage problem will be needed, lest our children suffer the consequences.