re: #793 SixDegrees

I agree that the refusal to consider post-processing of nuclear fuel rods is profligate beyond belief. Not only does it extend the fuel supply by an order of magnitude or more - it also substantially reduces both the volume and the storage time of the final end product, making the entire storage problem much, much simpler than what is currently envisioned.

And in addition to all that, it also allows for extraction of many useful isotopes that have applications in both industry and medicine, many of which are currently in short and declining supply as demand for them continues to grow.

It was great that Regan repealed the particular Presidential order banning civilian re-enrichment, but I seriously think its something he should have really pushed the industry to adopt as a way to partially solve the waste problem. Now the entire North American nuclear economy is based entirely around the open fuel cycle model.

Don’t take this as a strong criticism of Regan tho, just a missed opportunity. The blame goes entirely to Carter, the one president who really should have known better (a nuclear engineer by trade if I’m not mistaken).