Illinois Republican Representative John Shimkus voiced great concern over spent nuclear fuel stored on-site at nuclear plants - and specifically mentioned the nuclear plant in Limerick PA as an example of such concern. 

In his speech on the house floor, Rep. Shimkus stated: "So, today, we return to Pennsylvania, to a power plant called Limerick. Limerick has 1,143 metric tons of uranium spent fuel on site."

Rep. Shimkus also voices concern on the security of the spent fuel with regard to the location in a highly populated area stating "It is 20 feet above the groundwater, and it is on the Schuylkill River, which is 40 miles from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That is where we currently store high-level nuclear waste."

The ongoing debate continues whether to store spent high-level nuclear waste on-site in ever growing populations surrounding nuclear plants built almost 30 years ago, or transfer the waste to Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Read the full speech here.