The head of a federal commission on nuclear waste bluntly warned lawmakers that the United States cannot compete with other countries on nuclear power until policymakers establish a site to permanently store spent nuclear fuel.

"We cannot really claim to be a leader in nuclear power if we can't solve one of the fundamental problems with nuclear power, what to do with nuclear waste," former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), the co-chairman of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, said during a House hearing.

"The process has about completely broken down," Hamilton said, arguing that failed efforts to establish a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain has "damaged our state and federal relationships very sharply."

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Source: Andrew Restuccia | The Hill
Image: The Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future