There Is No Exit Plan: The Truth About "Temporary" Nuclear Waste Storage
When government agencies and private companies talk about storing nuclear waste in West Texas, they use a word that’s meant to make you feel safe: temporary.
But here’s the problem.
There is no exit plan.
What They're Really Proposing
The federal government has allowed a private company, Interim Storage Partners (ISP), to build a facility in Andrews County, Texas to store up to 40,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel. They call it “interim” storage, licensed for 40 years—with the option to renew.
But ask this:
What happens after 40 years?
Where does the waste go next?
Who is responsible for it then?
The answer: no one knows.
We Don’t Have a Permanent Repository
Under U.S. law—specifically, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act—the government was supposed to build a permanent storage facility for this high-level radioactive waste.
That was supposed to be Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
But it was never completed. And no alternative site has been chosen.
So now, instead of fixing the real problem, they’re trying to buy time by dumping it on West Texas and calling it “temporary.”
Temporary Has a Way of Becoming Permanent
If there’s no plan to move the waste out after 40 yeara:
…if no other site has been built…
…if political leaders keep kicking the can down the road…
Then what’s to stop this “interim” site from becoming the de facto permanent solution?
History tells us that when it comes to nuclear waste:
What gets parked usually gets left behind.
No Exit Plan Means No Accountability
If this site becomes permanent by default, we’re left with:
No long-term containment strategy
No federal funding for maintenance or emergencies
No plan for what happens when the containers degrade
No voice in the decision-making
And future generations will be stuck dealing with waste they didn’t create—in a location that never consented to host it.
Why Should Texans and New Mexicans Pay the Price?
West Texas powers America.
We provide energy, land, labor, and economic growth.
And yet, we're being asked to shoulder the riskiest, most toxic part of the nuclear industry with no guarantee that the waste will ever leave.
That’s not temporary.
That’s a trap.
What ARNW Demands
At Americans for Responsible Nuclear Waste, we’re calling for:
A true permanent solution backed by science, not politics
No storage without state and community consent
Full transparency, safety measures, and public oversight
A clear exit plan before a single shipment arrives
What You Can Do
Don’t fall for the word “temporary.”
Start asking: What’s the plan to remove it?
Contact your representatives and demand accountability.
Educate your neighbors—because most have no idea this is even happening.
If there’s no exit strategy, there’s no safety. There’s no fairness. There’s no consent.
And Texans should never accept a plan that puts us—and our land—at permanent risk.