Nuclear Waste: Reprocessing Or Repository?

This debate panel tackles one of the most persistent challenges in nuclear energy: what to do with spent nuclear fuel. Should the United States follow countries like France and pursue a reprocessing and recycling strategy that extracts remaining energy from used fuel? Or should we focus on developing a permanent deep geological repository like Yucca Mountain or alternatives? Both paths require enormous upfront investment, involve different long-term risks, and carry significantly different nonproliferation implications. This panel will give students a clear view of the technical, economic, and policy dimensions of this long-unresolved national challenge.