	Nuclear material is quite a rife source of cleaner energy that could be used to replace conventional, carbon emitting, energy sources. However, nuclear energy does have its downfalls. With the looming possibility of disasters as Three-Mile Island, Fukushima, or Chernobyl, it comes with its dangers. Besides, the immediate danger of a reactor failure, there is still the problem of nuclear waste, the radioactive byproducts of nuclear reactors. Thus, new technology that allows for the generation of energy by recycling these nuclear wastes provides a new solution for the pollution and energy problems created by nuclear energy and conventional energy sources. Other countries, especially France, have already implemented such technologies, and have seen the benefits in terms of energy generation efficiency. 
	Despite these benefits, there is still political and social controversy surrounding the use of nuclear materials and nuclear waste to generate energy. This has led nuclear waste to be stored in the earth instead of being utilized to its full potential, through national legislation in 1977. State legislation also played a role in inhibiting the use of nuclear energy in general, until a better mode of nuclear waste management has been devised. In general, extraction of energy from nuclear waste seems to be a valid response to the growing energy demand, and need for a way to treat nuclear waste. However, it does not completely eradicate the risks it carries from possible failures.  

	Growing energy demands and the environmental repercussions of meeting them has been an ever growing problem. The unsustainability of burning fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases, while still not meeting the full energy demands has sparked controversy and an urgency to move away from a such an outdated method. While renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and hydraulic energy are valid more efficient and cleaner alternatives, many researchers have turned to nuclear energy. They see the potential that extracting this latent energy from Earth’s radioactive material holds, and believe it to be a viable solution to these problems.
	However, the process of harnessing nuclear energy is far from impeccable. The nuclear reaction is sometimes not controlled and leads to disastrous failures and explosions. It also poses the problem of the disposal of the waste generated as byproducts of this process. These byproducts, or nuclear waste is simply store underground in hope to isolate it from the environment, but new technology presents the option of reprocessing this waste and extracting its still untapped energy. 
	This has been the aim of some US based projects, but it has not gone unopposed. Growing concerns regarding the safety and practicality of such processes have turned some researchers, politicians, and members of the general public away from such a step in the future. It is still not possible to know for sure the impact of nuclear waste reprocessing in the United States, but several estimates and models do provide some insight into the matter. Particularly, they help shed some light on the differences in energy and waste generation from waste reprocessing as opposed to conventional nuclear reactors. 
