The recent major quake that shook California has increased concern over the ability of the last nuclear power reactor in California to withstand strong earthquakes. The Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County has been criticized before on the grounds that it is not safe to operate because of its proximity to geological faults.
My Geiger counter is in the shop for maintenance.
I have often blogged about the problems at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico because it is the only functioning permanent geological repository for nuclear waste operating in the United States. It is primarily intended to accept transuranic wastes from U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories and production facilities. It does not accept spent nuclear fuel.
What to do with nuclear waste is one of the big open questions with respect to nuclear power and nuclear weapons production. The United States spent over a decade preparing for a geological repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada before the project was cancelled in 2009. Now the best estimate for a permanent nuclear waste repository is 2050.
My Geiger counter is in the shop for maintenance.
