The Republican governor of Texas Greg Abbott has written to US president Donald Trump to express his opposition to licence applications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the consolidated interim storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste at proposed sites in Texas and New Mexico.

The NRC is evaluating issuance of a 40-year licence to Interim Storage Partners (ISP) for a consolidated interim storage facility in west Texas and of a 40-year licence to Holtec International for a similar facility in southeastern New Mexico.

In his letter Mr Abbott said the proposed facilities would be sited in the Permian Basin Region, which is the largest producing oilfield in the world. He said a stable oil and gas industry is essential to the economy, and crucial to the security of the US. “Allowing the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste at sites near the largest producing oilfield in the world will compromise the safety of the region,” he said.