A new report calls for a permanent solution for the nation's safe storage of nuclear waste because the push for clean energy has placed renewed emphasis on nuclear power and the waste that goes with it.

"Revisiting America's Nuclear Waste Policy" notes that 2,000 metric tons of nuclear fuel are generated by U.S. reactors each year, to add to the more than 70,000 tons of spent fuel and other high-level waste already being stored at 121 sites in 39 states.

Moreover, 20 companies have submitted applications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build 26 new nuclear reactors in the next decade.

"With the needed expansion of nuclear power, the amount of used fuel produced will also increase," the report said. "The time is ripe for a permanent solution."

The report, by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, notes that Yucca Mountain in Nevada is not the "only" solution, but asks if not there, where?

"Yucca Mountain has been studied and characterized for more than three decades, and it has been found to be the safest and best option for disposing of the country's used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste given the parameters of U.S. law," the report said.

It notes the federal government's legal obligation to store and ultimately dispose of nuclear waste has taken a new turn with the Obama administration's proposed budget, which eliminates Yucca Mountain as a repository option and provides very little funding for the Department of Energy to pursue alternatives.

Given those actions, "the future of U.S. nuclear waste policy is as murky as any point in our long history of commercial nuclear power."

The report notes that since 1998, more than 40 commercial reactors have exceeded existing storage capacity and have been forced to purchase expensive dry storage systems to safely store the excess fuel.

"It is expected that approximately 90 reactors will have exhausted existing pool storage capacity by 2010 and will have to begin external dry storage."

With Obama's opposition to Yucca Mountain firm, Energy Secretary Steven Chu has said he will form a blue ribbon panel to review current policy and explore options.

To that end, the national report makes several recommendations, including:

 Eliminate the Department of Energy as the policy maker and transfer that authority to a government corporation. New Energy secretaries come and go when presidential administrations change, creating turnover that "hampers" continuity of management. "The safe and efficient management of the country's nuclear waste is a long-term proposition that is too important," to become whim to politics.

 Regardless of long-term nuclear waste policy, the country needs viable short-term solutions such as interim storage facilities. Congress and Obama should begin the process of siting and licensing centralized interim storage locations.

 Establish a clear path for constructing a permanent nuclear waste repository and continue to fund the licensing process for Yucca Mountain before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as dictated by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. "Despite the administration's stated plans, the law is the law, and the NWPA must be implemented."

 Explore the possibility of recycling used nuclear fuel to decrease the volume of waste and reduce security risks.

The full report is available at www.energyxxi.org.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com