The idea is to take highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel and bombard it with neutrons that eat up the worst of the problem and leave only a small amount of highly radioactive waste and a large pile of low-level waste that can be buried in landfills. Supporters of the concept, called transmutation, contend it might take care of radioactive waste created by the nuclear power industry and minimize the need for a proposed Nevada dump site.
Critics argue the idea is a shell game that costs more and generates more new waste than it's worth.
Nuclear power plants generate energy through controlled chain reactions. They change the reactor fuel into other radioactive elements, including plutonium, which has a half-life of 24,000 years. It stays radioactive for tens of thousands of years. The United States plans to bury such waste, most likely at Yucca Mountain. While some University of Nevada, Las Vegas researchers applaud the concept of transmutation, Yucca Mountain Project officials have expressed skepticism.