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Nuclear regulatory commission OKs closure of Yucca mountain

By  Eyder Peralta
   

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission handed down a long awaited decision today that allows the Obama administration to continue its plans to close Yucca Mountain, the nuclear waste dump in Nevada.

The AP reports:

The commission split, 2-2, on whether to uphold or reject a decision by an independent nuclear licensing board, which voted last year to reject the Energy Department’s attempt to withdraw its application for Yucca Mountain. The licensing board said the government failed to make a scientific case for why the application should be withdrawn. Despite the split vote, the NRC said in an order Friday that the licensing board should continue steps to close down Yucca Mountain by the end of the month.

This story is developing, so we’ll add more details as they come in.

Copyright 2011 National Public Radio.

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