SMART Act: Nuclear Fuel Recycling and the Nuclear Renaissance

On June 27, U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) went before Congress and proposed the Strengthening Management of Advanced Recycling Technologies (SMART) Act.  This potentially monumental, bipartisan legislation holds the key to what nuclear professionals refer to as “Closing the Fuel Cycle” which goes by the common name of “recycling.”

For the last 30 years the nuclear industry has been at a virtual standstill resulting from passed industry accidents, lack of public understanding, and Cold War fears.  Since 9/11 there has been resurgence in the Nuclear Industry as the only viable solution to the energy crisis and our dependence on foreign oil.  This change from a policy of fear and suppression to understanding and innovation is known as the Nuclear Renaissance.

One of the last and largest hurdles faced by the industry is what to do with spent nuclear fuel.  This spent fuel consists of highly radioactive, long-lived fission fragments such as Strontium and Cesium as well as material such as Uranium and Plutonium, which raises concern over weapons proliferation.

The solution to this problem has been right under our noses all along.

For decades now, Europeans have carried out nuclear fuel recycling in a cost-effective, clean, and above all SAFE manner.  Since Jimmy Carter’s term as president however, the American Nuclear Industry has been forced to deal with spent fuel without recycling or even a permanent repository such the one at Yucca Mountain.

The SMART Act proposes to change all that.  This bill, which is sponsored by representatives of both parties, proposes the government split the cost of building two recycling facilities with private industry 50/50 and to allow for licensing of such facilities to operate under the watchful eye of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

If passed, the SMART Act will have wide reaching effects such as the reduced cost of nuclear fuel, eliminating the cost of storing and guarding spent fuel, protecting the environment, and protecting the public from an increasing amount of spent nuclear fuel.

Perhaps the most significant impact this bill might have is to break down one of the final barriers between American citizens and energy-independence, which by the way, translates directly into national security.

Make your voices heard.  Together we can overcome the deafening roar of the small number of radical environmentalists who are so driven by their fear and lack of understanding of science that they will do anything in their power to drive the nuclear industry out of business.  These interveners, though few in number, have the ear of the federal government and have thus far been successful in killing similar legislation.

If you care about the environment, national security, and reliable energy, then I ask you to contact your Senators and voice your support for the SMART Act.  Together, through cooperation, education, and innovation we can eliminate our dependence on foreign oil, and we can do it in our lifetime!

~Man Overboard