In article , Larry Jaques says...

Well, coke tailings from the railroad industry 100 years ago
haven't been taken care of yet, either. Nor have lead, etc.
tailings from mining. So it's definitely a political problem
that nuke power hasn't replaced coal burning despite coal's
higher pollution rate.

It's a follow the money issue. Mining and railroad companies
had/have a great deal of influence so they get rules and
legislation passed that favor them - to the point of being
nearly a public subsidy.

The nuclear industry is quite analogous to your other examples,
they take in quite a bit of public money, with fuel issues.

Do nuclear plants actually have to purchase the fuel they
burn?

Jim

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