Waste of the Day: Radioactive Wasted Money
2 days ago Guest Blogger
By Jeremy Portnoy
Topline: The federal government is so prone to excessive spending that it is even wasting money on waste itself.
The Department of Energy could save up to $229.2 billion over the next several years by changing the way it disposes of nuclear waste, according to the Government Accountability Office. A vague and poorly understood law from the 1980s makes the process overly burdensome and expensive.
Key facts: The Department of Energy is in charge of treating water, soil, equipment and more that were contaminated from nuclear weapons production during World War II and the Cold War.
Disposing of “high-level” radioactive waste is time-consuming and expensive. It must be stored for years to let some of its radioactivity decay, and then it is buried deep underground. “Low-level” waste, which has less radiation, is easier to get rid of. It gets placed in a steel or concrete drum and is buried just a few feet below ground.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/05/22/waste-of-the-day-radioactive-wasted-money/
