ENERGY: Nation can't continue to punt on issue of nuclear waste

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• Blue Ribbon Commission says U.S. should start looking for Yucca alternative

  Blue Ribbon Commission says U.S. should start looking for Yucca alternative

  WASHINGTON -- The United States should immediately start looking for an alternative to replace the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, which cost an estimated $15 billion but was never completed, a presidential commission said Thursday.

  In its final report, the 15-member Blue Ribbon Commission recommended immediate efforts to develop at least one geologic disposal facility for long-term handling of nuclear waste. Any effort to site a disposal facility must have community support, it said.

  The report also suggested building regional storage sites that would be open for up to 100 years while officials seek to complete a permanent burial site.

• Explosion at nuclear reactor in France kills worker

  Explosion at nuclear reactor in France kills worker

  PARIS – An explosion and fire Monday at a French nuclear-waste processing site killed one person and injured four, heightening concern of safety risks from atomic energy following the disaster in Japan six months ago.

• Will spent nuclear fuel find a home in Idaho?

  Will spent nuclear fuel find a home in Idaho?

  Last week INL officials hailed their clean-up of the Pit 9 nuclear waste dump ahead of schedule and under budget. A contingent from eastern Idaho is going to Denver to push expanding its waste mission.

• NRC approves first new nuclear plant in 3 decades

  NRC approves first new nuclear plant in 3 decades

  The nation's first new nuclear power plant in a generation won approval Thursday as federal regulators voted to grant a license for two new reactors at a site in eastern Georgia.

• DOE looks at expanding research of small nuclear reactors

  DOE looks at expanding research of small nuclear reactors

  RICHLAND -- Research will be moving forward this year toward development and design certification of small modular nuclear reactors, said Peter Lyons, the Department of Energy assistant secretary of nuclear energy.

  Lyons, the primary policy adviser to Energy Secretary Steven Chu on nuclear energy research and international nuclear activities, visited Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland on Tuesday and then spoke at a meeting of the Eastern Washington Chapter of the American Nuclear Society.

  While no one source alone can meet increasing demand for electricity, both in the United States and also in developing countries, nuclear energy must be part of the mix as a clean and reliable source, he said.