Readers React: Washington’s failure on nuclear waste

It certainly is fair that utilities with nuclear plants stop paying the small fee for the disposal of their used fuel when there is no plan in sight. This is a colossal failure of the government to live up to legislated responsibilities. (“Tiny nuclear waste fee added up to billions,” May 15)

There is nothing technologically wrong or unsafe about the Yucca Mountain disposal site in Nevada. It certainly ran into its share of concerns, yet all of them could be handled with proper engineering. We forget that the repository is right next to the Nevada Test Site, where dozens of nuclear weapons were exploded underground. We are not talking about pristine territory.

With Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) claiming to have saved his state from Yucca Mountain, the president had no choice but to derail the project. How is that good for the country and the environment?

Edward L. Quinn

Dana Point

The writer is past president of the American Nuclear Society.