Accelerated Transmutation of Nuclear Waste and Pyroprocessing Background The Department of Energy (DOE) labs have embarked upon an expensive and complex nuclear research project that proponents claim will reduce the radioactivity of commercial irradiated nuclear fuel. However, one step of this process would involve reprocessing the nuclear fuel by separating it into its constituent components. This process would violate long-held U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policies and will continue to subsidize an outdated and highly toxic form of energy production.
Green Scissors Proposal Terminate the Accelerated Transmutation of Nuclear Waste (ATW) and pyroprocessing programs, saving $352 million over 5 years and potentially $280 billion over the lifetime of the program.
Project Hurts Taxpayers This project is corporatewelfare. Corporate partners in the project include Westinghouse, Bechtel and Northrup-Grumman. If this were an economically feasible method of dealing with nuclear waste, these companies would have developed it on their own. This project will not obviate the need for a nuclear waste repository, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Project Hurts Environment Reprocessing and building new unproven nuclear reactors are counterproductive methods of dealing with nuclear wastes. ATW and pyroprocessing itself generates new forms of radioactive wastes, which, in turn, will need proper disposal.
$352 million