Reprocessing Safeguards: New Technologies from an Old Perspective

The United States now appears to be ready to reassess the possibilities of implementing a fully closed fuel cycle with a form of reprocessing/waste conditioning at the back end. The United States abandoned reprocessing a number of years ago for a number of reasons, including proliferation concerns. Since that time, the need for safeguards for large-scale facilities, such as reprocessing ones, has continued. Reprocessing continued in other countries, mainly weapons states, of concern to the international community, but not directly under international safeguards (i.e., the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]). It is only now, with the commissioning of the Rokkasho Plant in Japan, that safeguards implementation in the full international community is being realized. This paper reviews the history of reprocessing plants and the evolution of regulations from the perspective of someone who lived it first hand. It concludes with ideas on institutional considerations to be faced if new U.S. initiatives are to be successful.