Durbin, Kirk to Hold Hearings on Nuclear Power

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 24, 2011 9:30PM

In the wake of the tragedy in Japan, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) will host a bi-partisan hearing in Chicago tomorrow on safety in Illinois nuclear power plants and disaster preparedness at the Dirksen Federal Building. Illinois generates more nuclear power than any other state. Governor Pat Quinn told WGIL that he wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to “take a closer look” at the plants, all operated by Exelon.

During a speech at Illinois State University, Senator Durbin said “What happened in Japan is never going to happen in Illinois…There are some situations in our state which bear close scrutiny.” One of those situations is addressing waste. Senator Kirk told Bloomberg “The United States needs a permanent nuclear waste storage solution, and that’s overwhelmingly Yucca,” pointing to the idea of storing nuclear waste at a facility in the Yucca Mountain.