Uploaded February 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Would you buy a car that you can’t inspect or maintain, that has no check engine light, and the hood is welded shut? This is how highly radioactive 'spent' nuclear fuel is stored in the US thanks to the shocking behavior of the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission). The NRC is a #CaptiveRegulator. It gives the nuclear industry — the most dangerous industry on Earth — anything it wants.
Stuart Scott and Paul Blanch challenged the NRC's Petition Review Board on March 9, 2021.
Fundamental flaws in the design of the containers used to store spent nuclear fuel in the US expose the entire country to unimaginable risks of radioactive leakage and catastrophic explosion. With only 5/8" inch of steel, which is subject to cracking over time, and a concrete shell, thousands of these thin-walled canisters in the US cannot be inspected or adequately monitored to detect or prevent leaks. Kris Singh, president of Holtec International, a nuclear waste management corporation, has admitted that "it’s not practical to repair the canisters, and that it would take only a microscopic crack to release millions of Curies of radioactivity into the environment." Worse, such a leak could lead to an explosion, spreading a cloud of radioactivity on the order of the Chernobyl accident, in whatever direction the winds were blowing.
Many canisters are not stored in secure buildings, but left out in the open, with air vents that trap insects and particulates. At Southern California Edison's decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station between Los Angeles and San Diego, waste-storage canisters are exposed to salt air, buried in the ground barely 100 feet from the ocean.
While nuclear waste stays 'hot' for hundreds of thousands of years, the overwhelming majority of canisters in the US are licensed for just 20 years’ use. Totally insane! Why does the NRC allow this? Simple. It is a 'captive regulator,' controlled by the industry it is supposed to be regulating. And why would the industry choose to perpetuate such huge risks? Again, simple. To save money!
In Europe, only thick-walled casks are permitted, with steel walls between 10 to 19 inches thick, and lids that can be unbolted to allow inspection - casks that can be inspected and transported safely.
In the US, by contrast, the NRC turns a blind eye to waste-storage safety. The nuclear industry makes its own rules, putting the current and all future generations at risk of deadly radioactive exposure.
We do not recommend watching this video before bedtime. But please do watch it through and share it widely.
For more information on the state of our planet visit the FacingFuture Library at https://facingfuture.earth/library
Would you buy a car that you can’t inspect or maintain, that has no check engine light, and the hood is welded shut? This is how highly radioactive 'spent' nuclear fuel is stored in the US thanks to the shocking behavior of the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission). The NRC is a #CaptiveRegulator. It gives the nuclear industry — the most dangerous industry on Earth — anything it wants.
Stuart Scott and Paul Blanch challenged the NRC's Petition Review Board on March 9, 2021.
Fundamental flaws in the design of the containers used to store spent nuclear fuel in the US expose the entire country to unimaginable risks of radioactive leakage and catastrophic explosion. With only 5/8" inch of steel, which is subject to cracking over time, and a concrete shell, thousands of these thin-walled canisters in the US cannot be inspected or adequately monitored to detect or prevent leaks. Kris Singh, president of Holtec International, a nuclear waste management corporation, has admitted that "it’s not practical to repair the canisters, and that it would take only a microscopic crack to release millions of Curies of radioactivity into the environment." Worse, such a leak could lead to an explosion, spreading a cloud of radioactivity on the order of the Chernobyl accident, in whatever direction the winds were blowing.
Many canisters are not stored in secure buildings, but left out in the open, with air vents that trap insects and particulates. At Southern California Edison's decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station between Los Angeles and San Diego, waste-storage canisters are exposed to salt air, buried in the ground barely 100 feet from the ocean.
While nuclear waste stays 'hot' for hundreds of thousands of years, the overwhelming majority of canisters in the US are licensed for just 20 years’ use. Totally insane! Why does the NRC allow this? Simple. It is a 'captive regulator,' controlled by the industry it is supposed to be regulating. And why would the industry choose to perpetuate such huge risks? Again, simple. To save money!
In Europe, only thick-walled casks are permitted, with steel walls between 10 to 19 inches thick, and lids that can be unbolted to allow inspection - casks that can be inspected and transported safely.
In the US, by contrast, the NRC turns a blind eye to waste-storage safety. The nuclear industry makes its own rules, putting the current and all future generations at risk of deadly radioactive exposure.
We do not recommend watching this video before bedtime. But please do watch it through and share it widely.
For more information on the state of our planet visit the FacingFuture Library at https://facingfuture.earth/library
