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More than fifty years ago World War II ended with the atomic bomb, back then the scope of nuclear technology was a mystery. Nuclear technology has reached imaginable heights, but along with its great accomplishments there are also inevitable problems. A major problem that the U.S. now faces is the disposal of nuclear waste, which is why Congress established the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Through this Act Congress gave the federal government the responsibility “to provide a planned permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, and the responsibility to bear the costs of permanent disposal.” (Nuclear Regulatory Commission [NRC] 2002)
History of the Policy
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 can trace its origins all the way back to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, in which both civilians and the military are allowed to use nuclear materials by law. (NRC 2002) Although Congress made it legal for civilians and the military to use nuclear......

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Approximate Word Count: 1592
Approximate Pages: 7 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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