Against a backdrop of global efforts to address peacefully the concerns raised by Iran's nuclear power program, the US and Russia are proposing an international "partnership" for controlling the flow of weapons-grade uranium to those who might harbor military ambitions. The plan would provide energy-starved countries with the fuel they need for generating nuclear power, while taking back the dangerous waste created in its production.
The U.S. Department of Energy is trying to tackle the old problem of what to do with nuclear waste by revisiting an old solution: reprocessing. Critics are concerned that reprocessing will increase the supply of bomb-grade fissile material.
Researchers are working on a way to securely store nuclear waste in crystallized form, a development that would greatly improve the feasibility of nuclear power.
A space-saving method for storing spent nuclear fuel has dramatically heightened the risk of a catastrophic radiation release in the event of a terrorist attack, according to a study initiated at Princeton.
As the debate rages over using the Yucca Mountain as a burial ground for thousands of tons of radioactive material, one researcher is looking at burying the waste on the moon. An amusing idea but it doesn't solve any of the current problems (transporting nuclear waste is dangerous, temporary storage is vulnerable to terrorists, etc.) and introduces a host of others including risks of widespread contamination if the rocket were to explode on the launchpad.
One alternative to the contentious Yucca Mountain repository for nuclear waste is to bury the waste deep in the ocean seabed. Sub seabed disposal has been studied for decades and appears to be a feasible but politically unattractive option.