I remember that the original fuel element shipment casks were so expensive that destructive testing on them was done with 50% scale models. That sort of thinking should send up red flags.

There are two things we do have to keep in mind, which is why some people consider me a Luddite and anti-technology:

1) Just because something CAN be done doesn't mean it WILL be done. As techies, we very often confuse the capability to do a thing with the determination to do it right.

2) You can't trust anyone with a conflict of interest to do the right thing. This is not the same as sayiing they're dishonest, it's just that they will have their judgement clouded in ways they do not understand and they will deny it with a clear conscience until the disaster strikes.

I came to the conclusion a long time ago that it was technically possible to have safe nuclear power. Whether we can put together a system to do that is problematical. To turn it over to private industry or government alone would be suicidal. The leaks at Hanford Works and at Chernobyl convince me government will not follow its own safety rules. And private industry will only follow those rules it is forced to at gunpoint.

As for the French dumping their waste at sea, or giving it to the Russians to deal with for a price, I know nothing. But that is how Tony Soprano earns his living...