理工類：閱讀理解Experts Call
The withdrawal of Nevadas Yucca Mountain as a potential nuclear waste repository1 has reopened the debate over how and where to dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste. In an article in the July 10 issue of Science， University of Michigan2 geologist Rodney Ewing and Princeton University3 nuclear physicist Frank von Hippel argue that， although federal agencies should set standards and issue licenses for the approval of nuclear facilities， local communities and states should have the final approval on the siting of these facilities. The authors propose the development of multiple sites that would service the regions where nuclear reactors are located.
“The main goal…， should be to provide the Unied States with multiple process that requires acceptance by host communities and states，” the authors write.
Ewing and yon Hippel also analyze the reasons why Yucca Mountain， selected by Congress4 in 1987 as the only site to be investigated for long-term nuclear waste disposal， finally was shelved5 after more than three decades of often controversial debate. The reasons include the sites geological problems， management problems， important changes in the Environmental Protection Agencys standard， unreliable funding and the failure to involve local communities in the decision-making process.
Going forward， efforts should be directed at locating storage facilities in the nations northeastern， southeastern， midwestern and western regions， and states within a given region should be responsible for developing solutions that suit their particular circumstances. Transportation of nuclear waste over long distances， which was a concern with the Yucca Mountain site， would be less of a problem because temporary storage or geological disposal sites could be located closer to reactors.
“This regional approach would be similar to the current approach in Europe， where spent nuclear fuel6 and high-level nuclear waste7 from about 150 reactors and reprocessing plants is to be moved to a number of geological repositories in a variety of rock types8，” said Rodney Ewing， who has written extensively about the impact of nuclear waste management on the environment and who has analyzed safety assessment criteria for the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
詞匯：
radioactive adj.放射性的 shelve v.擱置 repository n.儲藏地，儲藏室 controversial adj.有爭議的
geologist n.地質學家 reactor n.反應堆，反應器 geological adj.地質的
注釋：
1. The withdrawal of Nevadas Yucca Mountain as a potential nuclear waste repository： Nevadas Yucca Mountain：美國境內的內華達州尤卡山。nuclear waste repository：核廢物處理庫。美國能源部部長朱棣文 2009 年 3 月 5 日表示，擬在內華 達州尤卡山建設的核廢物最終處理庫將不再是美國儲存高放廢物的一個選項。
2. University of Michigan：美國密歇根大學，建于 1817 年。
3. Princeton University：美國普林斯頓大學，建于 1746 年。
4. Congress： 美國國會，美國最高立法機關，由參議院（Senate）和眾議院（House of Representatives）組成。
5. …was shelved：……被束之高閣。
6. spent nuclear fuel：也叫做 used nuclear fuel，一般譯為“乏核燃料”。
7. high-level nuclear waste：高（強度）放（射性）核廢物。
8. geological repositories in a variety of rock types：各種不同巖層中的地質處置 庫。geological repositories 指的是地表以下 300～1500 米的穩定的地質體中建造的 用于最終處置高放廢物和乏核燃料的工程設施。處置庫是一個多重屏障系統，工程屏障 由廢物體、廢物罐、外包裝和緩沖回填材料組成，而天然屏障則是能有效阻滯放射性核 素遷移的地質體，包括花崗巖、粘土巖、凝灰巖和巖鹽等。許多專家認為地質處置是安 全的，技術上是可行的，對環境是無害的。