DOE Idea: Going Private With Nuke Waste

[jpak]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ikxSLwXCpx4eChE4KVDfqlt3qD3wD8VCSAK00

WASHINGTON (AP) — Energy Department officials trying to promote nuclear power are suggesting that private industry assume some responsibility for the country's nuclear waste.

Edward F. "Ward" Sproat said Thursday that the idea could ensure more stable management and financial support for the long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump project in Nevada that he manages.

"I do think that providing some sort of an organization with legislative fiat that provides that stability and fixes some of these institutional problems is a good idea," Sproat said after addressing a conference of nuclear regulators. "But it's got to be done right."

He heads the Energy Department's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.

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