Source: Jacoby, M. March 30, 2020. “As nuclear waste piles up, scientists seek the best long-term storage solutions.” Chemical & Engineering News. Available at: https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/nuclear-waste-pilesscientists-seek-best/98/i12
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 is a $780 billion federal effort to stimulate the economy and advance U.S. infrastructure through tax breaks and other incentives. With almost half of the IRA funding dedicated to climate actions, a key goal of the IRA is to address the climate crisis by generously funding clean energy, climate mitigation, agriculture, and conservation-related programs. The IRA exclusively set aside $700 million for nuclear research, and nuclear infrastructure projects are eligible for $250 billions worth of loans, amongst several tax credits.
Nuclear has long been an important energy source. Electric generation from nuclear facilities results in no direct carbon emissions and is the most efficient and reliable energy source, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. It is currently the largest source of clean power in the U.S., producing more than half of U.S. carbon-free electricity. The nuclear industry also supports half a million jobs and contributes $60 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product each year.
The IRA supports nuclear energy by both providing a tax break and funds to support nuclear facilities and research. The IRA provides financing for some nuclear energy facilities and has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to support research on fuel (high-assay low-enriched uranium), particularly for commercial use. While there is no direct allocation of funds towards existing nuclear plants, the IRA has also appropriated $150 million to the Office of Nuclear Energy (ONE) to assist with advanced reactor projects and oversight of the existing nuclear fleet and infrastructure. The IRA also provides a tax break, in the form of a Production Tax Credit (PTC) for qualifying nuclear facilities, including those that already exist. In an effort to prevent existing facilities from closing, these facilities can receive credit for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity produced. The ONE claims that the IRA-funded PTC is a “game changer for nuclear energy” as it helps “preserve the existing fleet of nuclear plants.”
IRA funding for nuclear supports the mining of uranium, as well as the eventual disposal of its radioactive waste. Radioactive nuclear waste is unstable and poses health risks for thousands of years. High doses of radiation lead to health risks, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, or even radiation sickness and death at very high doses. Radioactive waste also affects the local ecosystem through thermal pollutions during the cooling process, the release of toxins and degradation of habits from surface mining, and DNA damage to marine species due to radioactive leakages from waste disposal.
The United States has accumulated over 85,000 metric tons of waste from spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants that have no clear designation for permanent disposal. This waste has been temporarily disposed, mostly in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina (Figure 1). The amount of nuclear waste grows by about 2,000 metric tons a year, and it is anticipated that the federal government will pay tens of billions of dollars in the coming decades in damages to utilities for failing to dispose of this waste, on top of the billions of dollars already paid. Without a permanent, regulated, and maintained disposal site, the safety of continued and potentially expanded nuclear energy production is questionable.
Disproportionate dispersion of the burdens of hosting uranium mines and nuclear waste storage facilities can lead to environmental injustices. Low-income and minority communities are disproportionately targeted with nuclear facilities and waste disposal sites. Radioactive waste from spent uranium fuel particularly harm frontline communities - which are often Indigenous, of color, poor, and rural - due to both proximity, lack of resources, and racial and class discrimination.
With nuclear qualifying for PTC, amongst other funding opportunities, the IRA recognizes the potential for nuclear power plants to provide a low-carbon source of electricity by increasing incentives to produce nuclear-generated electricity. As such, the IRA acknowledges that nuclear plants have played and continue to play a significant role in the nation’s clean energy transition, despite the controversy surrounding them. Nuclear certainly has the potential to provide a substantial amount of clean energy to the nation, but the questions arise: “at what cost” and “to whom”? Plans to continue and potentially expand the U.S. nuclear fleet must carefully consider how uranium is extracted and where the waste will end up, to ensure that the clean energy transition is also just.
