The nuclear industry is pressing Congress to update a Reagan-era waste law. (Axios)
The 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act assumed all spent nuclear fuel would be buried and forgotten, but today’s advanced reactor companies want to recycle and reuse it—something the law never contemplated.
Why it matters: With companies like Oklo, Curio, and SHINE Technologies pushing fuel-recycling approaches, industry leaders argue the legal framework is now their biggest bottleneck—not the technology itself.