Abstract
The U.S. nuclear energy industry currently operates using an open fuel cycle in which uranium is mined for fuel, used in reactors once, and then disposed of. The alternative is a closed fuel cycle where spent nuclear fuel from reactors is reprocessed and reused. As the modern-day nuclear industry seeks to expand, the shortcomings of the closed fuel cycle are becoming apparent and may stifle further growth. This Note explores a series of historical events and policy choices dating back to the early days of the country’s nuclear industry to explain why the United States currently has an open fuel cycle. It then compares the parallel history of France’s nuclear industry as an example of why and how a country might choose a closed fuel cycle. Through this comparative and by underscoring the harms of the country’s current system for sourcing nuclear fuel and disposing of nuclear waste, I argue that it is not only possible but fundamentally necessary for the United States nuclear industry to shift towards a closed fuel cycle, and propose methods for doing so, including a tax credit for fuel reprocessing.
Recommended Citation
Wilson Barlow,
One Man's Trash: Spent Fuel Recycling as a Path Forward for the U.S. Nuclear Energy Industry,
37 Fordham Envtl. L. Rev. 287
(2026).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/elr/vol37/iss2/4