Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking trains to transport radioactive waste materials from nuclear power plants to disposal sites.
• Government officials are planning to secure a temporary storage facility by 2021, with a long-term goal of finding a permanent location to house the waste by 2048.
• The agency wants to use the rail cars to haul 150-ton casks of radioactive waste. Officials are preparing for the transport system's launch by developing contracts, testing the equipment, and certifying the rail cars.

Dive Insight:

The federal government is legally responsible for nuclear waste fuel disposal. The Department of Energy anticipates the rail cars will last 30 years and could be operated on standard tracks that are already used for commercial and passenger transport.

The agency has requested public feedback in order to assess whether the cars should be leased or purchased. The project is still in the beginning stages and no final decisions have been made.

The issue of nuclear waste transport and disposal can be controversial. In August of 2013, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) and the U.S. Department of Energy locked horns on where containers of nuclear waste should be disposed. Expect to see some pushback from environmental groups and the general public as the government continues fine-tuning its disposal plans.