The US must create an integrated nuclear waste strategy that combines recycling with disposal and that can help the country regain leadership in the industry, a report from the Washington-based thinktank Energy Innovation Report Project (EIRP) said.

The report, written in collaboration with advanced nuclear reactor manufacturer Oklo, said the economics of recycling have improved, recycling technologies have progressed and there are more advanced safeguards to limit proliferation concerns.

The report said that with approximately 94,000 metric tonnes of used nuclear fuel (UNF) accumulated in the US, and with no operational deep geologic repository (DGR), Washington must look to recycling to reduce permanent disposal levels. This would also help it recover valuable isotopes with energy, space, medical and industrial uses.

“Technological advances, new market dynamics, and high-assay low-enriched uranium (Haleu) supply constraints have created a strategically significant opportunity for the US to implement commercial nuclear fuel recycling,” the report said.