After decades of studies, scientists now agree that underground

Please explain why option "D" is not correct.

Thanks

because the last line of the para says that they don't want a radioactive dump

D says it has been a vexing problem

Maybe the fact that the spent fuel will be radioactive is better here

Ps - I'm looking for OE too

Hello, jrk23. I was between (B) and (D) before I opted for the former as the safer option. Why? Because you will notice the lack of any mention of Japan in the latter. Perhaps nuclear waste disposal is not a vexing problem for countries other than Japan. The passage simply provides no insight into the matter. But we can say for sure that Japan still doesn't have [a storage site for spent fuel stored at nuclear power plants]. With that said, (B) is not a perfect answer. Can we be certain about just how much spent fuel needs to be disposed of (i.e. tons)? No. Just because the plan calls for massive storage units by 2040, we cannot say that tons of fuel exist in the present that need to be disposed of. Furthermore, we have no basis for labeling the current storage practices dangerous—i.e. calling the spent fuel dangerously radioactive is overreaching in the absence of anything to point to in the passage.

In all, I would say the question takes a few liberties that an official question would not. I would not be quick to write it off, but I would learn what I could from this one and see if I could apply any lessons to subsequent questions I might come across through the OG or another official source.

I hope that helps with (D) at least. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

Correct option is B:
Tons of spent fuel stored at nuclear power plants in Japan will remain dangerously radioactive for many more years.

Bcz:

• The passage confirms that Japan has been trying for over a decade to find a repository but still doesn’t have one.
• The planned repository is expected to launch by 2040, but delays are likely due to community resistance.
• This means that until a repository is built, the spent nuclear fuel will remain stored at nuclear power plants for an extended period.
• Since spent nuclear fuel remains radioactive for a very long time, and there’s no disposal site yet, it follows logically that the stored fuel will remain dangerously radioactive for many more years.


while D captures the general difficulty of nuclear waste disposal
B is a more direct consequence of the passage’s details.

D says that disposing nuclear waste is a vexing problem. But vexing problem to whom the government or the people and how is it vexing? B describes these in detail therefore B is the option in my opinion. Hope this makes sense.