The U.S. government is reconsidering its 1970s vintage policy of simply burying spent nuclear fuel. The Department of Energy (DOE) is once again examining fuel reprocessing options that could reduce the need for high-level waste disposal, increase the nuclear fuel supply and guard against weapons proliferation. In January 2003 DOE released the first report from this Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI). Spent nuclear fuel, all of which is currently treated as nuclear waste, contains more than 95 percent uranium and one percent plutonium. Thus, 96 percent of spent fuel could be recovered and used in a reactor. DOE estimates that if the 44,000 Mt of spent fuel currently on hand at nuclear plants could be recycled, this "waste" could substitute for about two years of U.S. oil imports.
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