US funding for research into recycling used nuclear fuel
The Department of Energy (DOE) noted that less than 5% of the potential energy in the USA's nuclear fuel is extracted after five years of operation in a commercial reactor. It says recycling used nuclear fuel could increase resource utilisation by 95%, reduce waste by 90%, and decrease the amount of uranium needed to operate nuclear reactors. Additional benefits to nuclear fuel recycling include the recovery and extraction of valuable radioisotopes for medical, industrial, and defence purposes.