An accidental fire from spent fuel at a U.S. nuclear power plant could dwarf the Fukushima disaster, according to a new study.
Spent fuel rods are stored at the bottom of nuclear power plants in deep pools to let them cool off. The report said that improvements could be made on the monitoring systems at existing facilities, which would lessen the risk of an accident.
“We’re talking about trillion-dollar consequences,” said Frank von Hippel, a nuclear security expert at Princeton, Science Mag reports.
The recommendations were made as part of an analysis of the Fukushima disaster, which was caused by a spent fuel fire.
The disaster left more than 400 square miles uninhabitable, and around 160,000 people evacuated the area.
