Idaho Location Among 11 Possible DOE Nuke Fuel Recycling Sites

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Story Published: Nov 30, 2006 at 4:25 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 30, 2006 at 4:25 PM MDT

By Copy Right 2006 The Associated Press

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) _ The Department of Energy says eleven sites have been selected as possible places to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from reactors.

One of the sites is the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho.

The program is part of the Energy Department's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. The Bush administration has touted it as a means to safely expand nuclear energy.

The eleven sites will share as much as 16 (m) million in grants next year.

Proponents say the program will allow countries to rely on nuclear energy while reducing the amount of waste generated by power plants.

Critics say reprocessing could make it easier for terrorists or enemy states to obtain plutonium for nuclear weapons.

And Jeremy Maxand of the Snake River Alliance says bringing spent fuel from commercial reactors to Idaho violates a 1995 cleanup agreement between Idaho and the D-O-E.

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