As it stands, while the US has extensive nuclear weapons and power plants, the infrastructure for dealing with weapon end of life and spent fuel is sorely lacking, reinforced by laws preventing...
The Energy Department’s plan approved last August called for the full ton of material to be stored at the Nevada nuclear security site and the government’s Pantex Plant in Texas, two facilities that already handle and process plutonium.
As it stands, while the US has extensive nuclear weapons and power plants, the infrastructure for dealing with weapon end of life and spent fuel is sorely lacking, reinforced by laws preventing transportation of nuclear material across state lines. I don't want to minimize the dangers of radioactivity, but it is less risky to transport it for storage and reprocessing (especially in such secrecy that it takes unknown months to admit it even happened) than leaving it in insufficient storage indefinitely without reprocessing or conversion into long-term stable forms.
As it stands, while the US has extensive nuclear weapons and power plants, the infrastructure for dealing with weapon end of life and spent fuel is sorely lacking, reinforced by laws preventing transportation of nuclear material across state lines. I don't want to minimize the dangers of radioactivity, but it is less risky to transport it for storage and reprocessing (especially in such secrecy that it takes unknown months to admit it even happened) than leaving it in insufficient storage indefinitely without reprocessing or conversion into long-term stable forms.