The owners of the Yankee Rowe plant in Massachusetts, as well as the Connecticut Yankee and Maine Yankee plants, told the newspaper that in talks with British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. they discussed shipping thousands of used fuel rods to a facility in Sellafield, England.

That step was considered instead of waiting for a federal waste site to open, which will happen no sooner than 2010, the Globe reported.

The plant owners said they intended the fuel rods would be stored or reprocessed into new fuel, the Globe said.

"What we have been trying to do is turn over every stone, so we don't miss an opportunity and we can finish the job," Kelley Smith, a spokeswoman for the Yankee Rowe and Connecticut Yankee plants told the newspaper. Smith said the two plants can't be completely shut down until the used fuel rods are removed.