NASHVILLE, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A plan by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., to build 100 nuclear plants over the next 20 years is fraught with problems, critics say.
Even though it sounds simple, opponents contend the idea is actually complicated by extremely high costs and the lack of a safe way to dispose of nuclear waste, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported Monday.
The newspaper said critics claim there is no real way to know how much building the reactors would cost, with estimates of construction costs for new nuclear units quadrupling in recent years to between $5 billion to $10 billion per reactor. Cheaper alternatives are available, they say.
Environmentalists also point out that defeat of a proposed nuclear waste facility in Nevada has left the country without a plan for storing spent nuclear fuel.
Dave Kraft, director of Nuclear Energy Information Service, told The Tennessean, "Authorizing construction of new nuclear reactors without first constructing a radioactive waste disposal facility is like authorizing construction of a new Sears Tower without bathrooms."
Alexander reportedly counters that spent fuel can be stored at the plants safely for 60 to 80 years while new reprocessing methods are sought.
