mr. robert bob alvarez. he is one of those who have been following nuclear power plant for a long time. he is the former senior policy advisor and assistant secretary of energy, and has many other credentials. i want to begin with mr. bob alvarez, formerly with the department of energy. bob? >> i am recovering from the department of energy. what i'm going to talk about here are mostly pre-disposal issues associated with nuclear power plants. especially the spent fuel aspect of it, which is the most significant long lasting problems facing the closure of power. -- power plant. nuclear power plants have been major large-scale radioactive organizations. after about 60 years, the united states have generated roughly 30% of the total global energy of spent nuclear fuel. there are about 80,150 metric tons at about 125 sites, nine of which are operational. i'm concerned about this because of this material which is the most hazardous material on the planet. it is a unique material that is something that was totally new and i thought about until about 19 50 when the united states government bega

mr. robert alvarez. bob alvarez is one of those who has been following nuclear power plants for a long time. he is the former senior policy advisor and assistant secretary of energy and has many many other credentials to be addressing the subject. i want to begin with mr. bob alvarez, formerly of the department of energy. bob? >> i'm recovering from the department of energy. [laughter] >> what i'm going to talk about here are mostly predisposal issues associated with nuclear power plants. especially the spent fuel aspect of it, which is really the most significant long-lasting problem facing the closure of power plants. as you know, nuclear power plants are no longer just about generating electricity. they have become major large scale radioactive waste management operations. after about 60 years, the united states has generated roughly 30% of the total global inventory of spent nuclear fuel. by far, the largest, about 80,000, 150 metric tons, about 125 sites, 99 which are operational. why should we be conce