tons of nuclear waste stored in so-called casks of steel, concrete and lead, and more than 100 commercial nuclear power plants in the u.s. and other locations. 2,000 tons added to the pile every year. u.s. officials say the spent fuel can be safely stored in these containers for 90 years, but that is storage, not disposal. and it's the disposal problem that has some in the industry worried. >> if the nuclear fuel is safe at the sites where it is stored now, and if it can be safe almost indefinitely, why do you need a knew career repository? >> you ultimately need a nuclear repository because, just like all wastes in a society, we have to put them someplace. we deal with biological waste. we deal with chemical waste. we deal with trash, every day trash. >> reporter: jack edlow runs a company that transports nuclear material. he's against president obama's decision to cut funding for the yucca mountain project in mov nevada. it was supposed to be the