Study Confirms Public Concern Over Nuclear Fuel Pools. Coalition Demands NRC Move Waste from Vulnerable Reactor Pools - NIRS

Study Confirms Public Concern Over Nuclear Fuel Pools. Coalition Demands NRC Move Waste from Vulnerable Reactor Pools - NIRS: "At most plants, waste pools contain 10 to 30 times more radioactive material than the reactor itself. The NAS did not dispute independent experts' calculations that a fire could lead to radioactive releases that far exceed the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and referred to 'the enormous potential consequences' at stake if prompt attention was not paid to the fuel pool problem.

The NAS study notes, 'Less spent fuel is at risk in an accident or attack on a dry-storage cask than a spent fuel pool ... an accident or attack on a spent fuel pool puts the entire inventory of the pool, potentially hundreds of metric tons of spent fuel, at risk.'"