Plans are afoot to reuse spent reactor fuel in the U.S. But the advantages of the scheme pale in comparison with its dangers

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[ LA HAGUE, on France's Normandy coast, hosts a large complex that reprocesses spent fuel from nuclear power plants, extracting its plutonium for fabrication into new fuel. The U.S. Department of Energy has recently proposed building a similar facility. ]
  • Spent nuclear fuel contains plutonium, which can be extracted and used in new fuel.
  • To reduce the amount of long-lived radioactive waste, the U.S. Department of Energy has proposed reprocessing spent fuel in this way and then “burning†the plutonium in special reactors.
  • But reprocessing is very expensive. Also, spent fuel emits lethal radiation, whereas separated plutonium can be handled easily. So reprocessing invites the possibility that terrorists might steal plutonium and construct an atom bomb.
  • The author argues against reprocessing and for storing the waste in casks until an underground repository is ready.

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