Dominion utility chief says nuke waste site long overdue

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

Dominion utility chief says nuke waste site long overdue

  

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - The top executive of  

Dominion Resources<D.N>, a Virginia-based utility, said on 

Tuesday that the Department of Energy should move ahead in 

building a permanent repository for thousands of tons of waste from 

nuclear power plants. 



The permanent repository is important to Richmond, Va.-based 

Dominion, which agreed to buy the Millstone nuclear unit of 

Northeast Utilities <NU.N> for $1.28 billion in a deal that was 

expected to close in April. 



"The federal repository was supposed to be up and running more 

than three years ago," Thos. Capps, Dominion's chief executive 

officer, said in a speech at a meeting of business economists. "To 

date, the government has spent $6.8 billion and no repository is in 

sight." 



Some 40,000 tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods are 

now stored at scores of commercial power plants despite a federal 

requirement that the Department of Energy build a permanent 

repository. 



The Energy Department has been studying a site known as Yucca 

Mountain in Nevada to determine its suitability for storing the 

waste. If the site is eventually approved by Congress, the spent 

nuclear fuel would be moved there by truck and rail as early as 

2010. 



Capps said the nation faces a dangerous imbalance in electricity 

supply and demand, with few new coal-burning plants and no 

nuclear plants on the drawing board. 



"Nuclear energy supplies one-fifth of the nation's electricity with no 

emissions," he said. "But the expansion of nuclear energy is 

comatose." 



Capps remarks echoed the sentiments of Republican head of the 

House Energy and Commerce committee who earlier on Tuesday 

said nuclear power was on its way back. 



Vice President Dick Cheney said last week that nuclear power 

could help alleviate environmental concerns about global warming. 

Coal-fueled power plants spew various emissions, including carbon 

dioxide, that have been linked to climate change by scientists. 



Republican lawmakers are taking a closer looks at the industry 

although no new nuclear plants have been built in 25 years. 



Dominion provides electricity or natural gas to nearly 4 million 

customers in Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and 

West Virginia. The company had net profits of $436 million last 

year on sales of $9.2 billion.



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Sandy Perle                                     Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100                                     

Director, Technical                             Extension 2306                                  

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service         Fax:(714) 668-3149                                          

ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.                       E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net                                                      

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue           E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com                       

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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