Westinghouse's SC Uranium Cleanup Won't Come for Decades

Federal regulators say the Westinghouse Electric Company has no plans to clean uranium leaks at a nuclear fuel plant despite evidence it could reach South Carolina's water supply.

Instead, Westinghouse wants a new 40-year extension from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, even though there is nearly a decade left on its current license.

The nuclear plume is under the plant and cannot be cleaned until the fuel factory closes. A new license would delay cleanup until 2058 or later.

The State newspaper reported a Westinghouse executive apologized to the factory's neighbors, who want the NRC to deny the license.

An NRC assessment in June says uranium dripped from a pipe under a building in 2011. In July, neighbors learned uranium also leaked through a hole in the floor.