The Dallas-based company that now disposes of low-level radioactive waste in West Texas is taking the first step to become the nation's first interim storage site for high-level nuclear waste from around the country.
Waste Control Specialists is preparing to notify the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the company's plan to seek a license to build a facility in Andrews County that would store for as long as 100 years spent nuclear fuel rods from power plants around the country.
NRC spokesman David McIntyre said Friday that the agency had been alerted to expect the letter.
It takes years for the license application process and its review by the federal nuclear agency.
A presidential commission in 2012 recommended the U.S. look for an alternative to Nevada's Yucca Mountain.
