>"No country, including the United States, has a permanent geologic repository for disposal of commercial SNF (spent nuclear fuel) and other HLW (high-level waste). Currently, commercial nuclear power plants generally store SNF on site, awaiting disposal in a permanent repository," Larsen writes.
So in the almost 70 years since nuclear power generation started, nobody has a plan for permanent storage. To call it 100% clean energy it must also have the full life cycle of all materials used.
>Oregon: 350 metric tons > >The cooling tower at the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant was destroyed in a controlled demolition when the plant was decommissioned in 2006. But 34 steel and concrete storage casks filled with radioactive materials remain.
>California: 3,390 metric tons > >The red arrow points to the location of dry storage casks at the decommissioned San Onofre power plant. The casks, filled with 3.6 million pounds of radioactive waste, are perched about 100 feet from the ocean in an area prone to earthquakes.
>Illinois: 10,180 metric tons > >About 1,000 tons of highly radioactive waste is reportedly stored in a containment pool on the Zion Nuclear Power Station property, and there's no plan for how to deal with it permanently.
Until there is some plan in place for permanent storage of the waste, which includes all the other things not just the fuel but anything else that has come in contact with the radiation, everything from gloves to the buildings themselves, I am not sure it can be called 100% clean.
@geniusmusing @simsa03 There are some designs which are not expected to produce as much waste (which also cannot produce fuel for nuclear weapons), such as the thorium salt reactor design. I'd like to see some of those built and tested to see how well they solve some of the problems that older designs have.