In the 1960s, nuclear power gained popularity as a means of producing power for civilian use. During the next two decades, several nuclear power plants were built, but there was little consensus about how to best dispose of radioactive waste. Waste from plants, as well as from military and defense operations, was usually stored on site or in nearby storage facilities. Low-level waste, such as that from hospitals, research labs, and power plants is generally placed into containment facilities on-site. However, the disposal of high-level waste, materials that are highly radioactive, remains more problematic. Spent nuclear fuels from power plants are sometimes shipped to containment facilities, and sometimes stored in specially constructed containment pools on-site. Radioactive waste is thus, stored in various locations, governed by federal regulations. Forty-three states in the United States, and several Canadian provinces, currently have nuclear...