It's definitely in New England's economic interest to push for a revival of the recycling of material from spent nuclear fuel rods, a byproduct of nuclear power plant operations.

Pursuing recycling of used fuel currently stored at nuclear plants would fit in well with the energy needs of New England and the Department of Energy's long-range plan to transport used fuel by rail car to a national interim storage site. A facility for recycling used fuel could be built at such a site.

Being able to produce more zero-carbon nuclear power, instead of preparing to permanently dispose of valuable used fuel as if it were waste, has many advantages.

The United States has more than 70,000 metric tons of used fuel, including 4,470 tons in New England. Used fuel is stored at nuclear plants like Millstone in Waterford, Pilgrim in Massachusetts and Seabrook in New Hampshire, and also at a number of orphan sites in New England where commercial reactors are either scheduled to close by the end of this year (Vermont Yankee) or have been shuttered for a number of years (Connecticut Yankee, Maine Yankee, and Yankee Rowe in Massachusetts). Recycling used fuel makes more sense than continuing to store tons of the nuclear material in concrete casks indefinitely.

Used fuel should not be confused with nuclear waste. It contains tens of billions of dollars worth of valuable plutonium and uranium, which can be chemically reprocessed into a mixed-oxide fuel and used in nuclear plants to generate more electricity.

The technology for recycling was developed in the United States, but in 1977 President Jimmy Carter forbade its continued use on grounds that it could lead to weapons proliferation. France and England didn't follow the U.S. example, and both countries and several others with nuclear programs assessed the situation differently and continued used-fuel recycling.

The process is safe and worthwhile. France uses recycling to obtain 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, and it still has plenty of power left over that it sells to neighboring countries. France has the lowest carbon emissions per capita in Europe and the cheapest electricity. What's more, recycling reduces the amount of nuclear waste requiring disposal in a deep-geologic repository by roughly half.

Nuclear recycling is a safe, economical option and, as its use overseas illustrates, overwhelmingly rational. Let's change our nuclear policy so that the recycling process originally developed in this country can again benefit us as much as it has benefited the French.

K. Paul Steinmeyer is a senior health physicist with Radiation Safety Associations, Hebron.