Student Post: Aging Nuclear Infrastructure: How old is too old?

As the current infrastructure of nuclear power plants in the United States continues to age, major decisions regarding how and when to repair or retire these facilities rise to the surface. According to a CNN article from last year in March, over half of the countries 104 nuclear power plants are over 30 years old. These plants have been applying for, and being granted, extensions on their operating licenses. http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/15/news/economy/nuclear_plants_us/index.htm

Prairie Island Nuclear Power facility in Minnesota is one of the plant that is over 30 years old. The twin reactors on the site began operating in 1973. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Island_Nuclear_Power_Plant Exel Energy has been working for the last few years on gaining approval to continue operating this plant until 2034. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/05/17/xcel-prairie-island/

This raises a number of safety concerns including, how old is too old for a nuclear power facility and at what point has one location been exposed to an unsafe amount of radioactive waste being stored on site?