Vermont Sues NRC Over Nuclear Waste Storage

(Host) The state of Vermont has joined Connecticut and New York in suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over a new policy on how long nuclear waste can be safely stored at a power plant. 

The policy allows spent fuel to be stored at plants like Vermont Yankee for 60 years after the reactor has shut down.

Attorney General Bill Sorrell says spent fuel is too hazardous for temporary on-site storage. 

He says the NRC needs to take environmental concerns more seriously, and look for permanent solutions.   

(Sorrell) "If states like Vermont, New York and Connecticut just sit back and say, oh this is okay, then it doesn't keep the pressure on the federal government and the nuclear power industry to come up with permanent storage solutions." 

(Host) Sorrell says once there are permanent storage solutions in place, the states can consider temporarily storing spent fuel for briefer periods of time.