Pieces of Nuclear Reprocessing Scheme Effectively Cancelled
In late 2008, after more than a year of delays, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) finally released its required Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIS) on its proposed Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) program. This controversial program involves "reprocessing" the nuclear waste from commercial nuclear power reactors.
UCS has helped lead the opposition to GNEP, arguing that this costly program will not only fail to solve the issue of nuclear waste, but it would make it easier for terrorists to obtain nuclear weapons materials, encourage other countries to begin reprocessing programs, and seriously undermine U.S. efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
Thanks in part to the efforts of UCS supporters, many of GNEP's most ambitious aspects, such as the construction of a number of new reprocessing facilities throughout the country, have been effectively cancelled. An official government "record of decision" to proceed has been put off for the incoming administration where there appears to be little support. Currently, the DOE is accepting public comments on the PEIS until March 16, 2009.
