A panel of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it wants further study of how a nuclear power plant will dispose of low-level radioactive waste if it builds two new proposed nuclear reactors.
The NRC panel says Southern Nuclear Operating Company, which manages Plant Vogtle in Burke County near Augusta, has not given enough information on its plans to dispose of low-level radioactive waste for the proposed reactors. The panel says that warrants additional review and debate.
The issue has come up in the NRC's licensing process for the reactors.
Opponents of the reactors call it a setback for Vogtle.
But Southern Nuclear officials say the company has full confidence that the NRC will grant the license.
The company plans to dispose about 95 percent of its low-level radioactive waste from the reactors at a site in Utah, according to Beth Thomas, a spokeswoman for Southern Nuclear. The plant already sends 95 percent of its low-level waste to the site.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Wants More Information About Radioactive Waste Disposal
