North America has a Nuclear Waste Problem

In 1942, just below the football stadium at the University of Chicago, scientists were racing to figure out the feasibility of a controlled nuclear reaction.  At that moment, it was all about WWII. 

In 1958, the US began generating electricity from nuclear power, and today there are nuclear power plants in more than half of American states. The US Department of Energy touts nuclear energy as “cleaner and greener” pointing to its zero emissions and smaller land footprint, but nuclear power generation does produce hazardous waste products, and finding somewhere for it to go is not just a logistical issue, it’s a political one. 

Today, the US and Canada remains two of the largest producers and users of nuclear energy, and Canadians are proposing a waste storage solution that is not going over well. 

 Joseph Gedeon, a reporter at Politico and former producer here on The Takeaway, joined for a chat about the environmental dilemma.