A Repository, Not a Dump

Andrea Jennetta and Nancy E. Roth, the two minds behind the new blog, Fuel Cycle Week, have a challenge for their colleagues in the mainstream media:

Why do respected reporters and editors so often use the word “dump” in mainstream news stories on any kind of radioactive waste, including spent fuel from civilian reactors? “Dump” appears in reports on the Yucca Mountain project, proposed interim storage sites and even low-level waste facilities in South Carolina, Utah and Washington. The word is endemic in the popular media. No one gives it a second thought. But does “dump” fairly characterize these sites? No.

Absolutely.

For more on how the nuclear industry takes care of used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste, click here. And let me welcome Jennetta and Nancy to the blogosphere, we're glad you're here.

Thanks to the indefatigable Dan Yurman for the pointer.