Because of the radioactive nature of its fuel source, nuclear power has two huge disadvantages:
1. An accident at the plant could release radioactive material into the environment as a plume or cloud-like formation of radioactive gases and particles. These particles may be inhaled or ingested by people and animals or deposited on the ground. The particles are composed of unstable atoms that give off excess energy, called radiation, until they become stable. In low doses, radiation is harmless. After a nuclear meltdown though, the large doses destroy living cells and cause mutations, illness, and death.
2. Disposal of nuclear waste is a huge disadvantage. Low-level waste comes from contact with the nuclear fuel in day-to-day operations. It is disposed of on-site or it is sent to a low-level waste facility in one of 37 states.
High-level waste consists of spent fuel. It takes hundreds of thousands of years to deactivate. More than 80,000 metric tons of spent fuel sit idle in 121 communities across 39 states. Most of the waste sites are near reactors. They are located near rivers, lakes, and oceans.
In the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, Congress told the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to design, construct, and operate a permanent geologic repository for the disposal of high-level waste in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. It would cost $100 billion. It would require 300 miles of railroad tracks, and titanium shields to keep the waste intact.
Local officials don't want the hazard in their state. They delayed its development until 2013 when the NRC won its case in the U.S. Court of Appeals. In 2015, the NRC completed a safety assessment. In 2016, it completed an Environmental Impact Statement.
In 2018, House Republicans passed a bill to reopen the Yucca Mountain facility. It also calls for a plan to temporarily house the spent fuel. Private companies have proposed state-of-the-art, underground facilities in remote areas of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. They would store nuclear waste for up to 40 years.
Nuclear power is not renewable. There is 80 years worth of fuel in known reserves if used at current rates.
