The nuclear industry, once an environmental pariah, is recasting itself as green as it attempts to extend the life of many power plants and build new ones. But a leak of radioactive water at Vermont Yankee, along with similar incidents at more than 20 other US nuclear plants in recent years, has kindled doubts about the reliability, durability, and maintenance of the nation’s aging nuclear installations.
See http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2010/01/31/leaks_imperil_nuclear_industry/?page=1.
Despite billions spent on cleanup, Hanford won’t be clean for thousands of years
Some radioactive contaminants at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in the state of Washingtonwill threaten the Columbia River for thousands of years, a new analysis projects, despite the multibillion-dollar cleanup efforts by the federal government. The U.S. Department of Energy projections come from a new analysis of how best to clean up leaking storage tanks and manage waste at Hanford, a former nuclear weapons production site on 586 square miles next to the Columbia in southeastern Washington.
See http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/despite_billions_spent_on_clea.html.