Max S. Power

With nuclear power back under serious consideration as a U.S. power source, a blue ribbon panel's decisions on what to do with waste carry great import.

Reprocessing spent nuclear fuel appeals to the modern urge to recycle, and some past concerns may be surmountable, but it remains an expensive and fraught process.

Analysis: Openness, accountability and trust can lead to effective actions to reduce present and future risks.

Analysis: Waste disposal after decades of nuclear weapon production will require taking risks.

In Part One of a three-part series, the author of America's Nuclear Wasteland analyzes what it will take to clean up the mess left by the nuclear arms race.