Federal nuclear dump search relaunched

Acknowledging there is no consent in New Mexico or Texas for private consolidated interim storage facilities for high-level radioactive wastes, the U.S. Department of Energy has relaunched a federal dump search program from the 1980s-1990s under a new banner. DOE held a scripted webinar on July 25, touting its recently announced 13 consortia, paid $2 million each to help the agency sell the lie to unsuspecting “potential host communities” for the next few years. DOE hopes to have one or more “volunteer” communities where it can operate a de facto permanent surface dump in 10-15 years. The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board will host DOE for an update on August 30, preceded the day before by international reviews.