Is waste really waste

I've been reflecting on the recent American Nuclear Society Winter Conference and Expo, where I enjoyed the discussion on recycling used nuclear fuel to recover valuable minerals or products for future applications. I have spent more than 30 years focusing on dissolving and separating nuclear material, so it was refreshing to hear the case for new applications being made. However, I feel that these discussions could go further still.

Radiation is energy, something that our society seems to have an endless need for. A nuclear power station produces a lot of radiation that is mostly discarded. But once fuel has been used, it still produces significant levels of radiation and heat energy. The associated storage, processing, and eventual disposal of this used fuel requires careful management and investment to protect systems and people from the radiation. Should we really disregard-and discard-this energy source, along with all the valuable minerals in the used fuel, when we could instead use it to deliver significant value to society?

For example, in the field of nuclear medicine, trials are taking place around the world to revolutionize cancer treatments with targeted therapy using radionuclides. Some of these radionuclides are coming from capturing the "free" radiation energy within commercial reactors, while others are retrieved from surplus nuclear material or wastes. Another example is the work we are doing with the U.K. Space Agency. Here we are extracting the radioisotope americium-241, which accumulates as an impurity in stored material. Am-241 can be repurposed into providing heat and energy for spacecraft for centuries.

Capturing this energy and processing waste to recover valuable products bring broader societal benefits. The more we harness every bit of the energy or minerals in our nuclear cycle, the more sustainable we become, and the more value we create. I believe there is so much more we can do. To start, let's change the rhetoric. Let's consider used nuclear fuel a resource for conservation rather than a waste for disposal.