Springtime for the full nuclear fuel cycle

The Trump administration's Department of Energy has done good. Its Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses (NLIC) initiative has planted some important seeds that are starting to sprout. Five states-Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah-have found the courage to pull out a map, put a finger on a spot, and say, "This place is worth exploring for nuclear waste disposal."

Of course, these states aren't looking only at the economic benefits of disposal. They see the larger prize: becoming a hub for recycling, front-end fuel cycle facilities, and advanced reactor development and services.

Some in the nuclear community worry that the near-term economic impact of recycling has been oversold to these states, a byproduct of the irrational exuberance of a few. But I suspect that if you polled ANS's nearly 13,000 members, most would say we'll be recycling at least some of our nuclear fuel within a few decades. Across the nuclear community, there's a growing sense that recycling is not an option anymore-it's an eventuality. The real question is how to get there. What is the path?

It's safe to say the path won't be multibillion-dollar, government-contracted facilities reprocessing the entire inventory of LWR fuel, at least not in the near term. It will look more like several limited, public-private demonstrations of new and existing technologies for transportation, recycling, interim storage, and long-term disposal at one or more of the five NLIC sites. Even that is a ways off. First, we need technically grounded conversations in each of these states so that durable agreements with the federal government can be made with public support.

Public acceptance doesn't spring up overnight; it has to be cultivated like a tender seedling. Each of these five states is rooted in its own soil with unique requirements for growth. The process demands a great deal of transparency, and it can only move at the speed of trust. My rule of thumb? If you are not sure what to do next, look at how data centers have done it in the recent past, then do the opposite.

West Virginia offers a cautionary tale. In early September, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that the state had signed on as a sixth NLIC finalist. Its April proposal to the DOE included consolidated interim storage of spent fuel and research into long-term disposal, as required by the NLIC request for information. When the Charleston Gazette-Mail got the proposal through a public records request and reported that West Virginia had offered to store nuclear waste, the reversal came fast and furious. Four days later the governor declared that "West Virginia will not be a dumping ground for nuclear waste. Period." The next day the state withdrew from the program, going from finalist to dropout in about three weeks.

Whether you call this process collaborative or consent-based (and it's probably both), we need to take our time. We must present the economic opportunities fairly and completely, warts and all. Still, if we tend these gardens patiently, with honest information, steady engagement, and respect for each community's needs, these NLIC shoots will put down roots. Their stems will strengthen enough to withstand the inevitable political storms, and in time they'll blossom into a profusion of opportunity: recycling, fuel fabrication, advanced reactors, and the jobs and investment that come with them.