I am a chemical engineer doing my masters in hydrogen storage at Queens University in Kingston. After reading your "Asking the Right Questions?" for a research project of mine I feel it is my responsibility to participate in the dialogue for decision making on nuclear waste treatment.

Considering the small volume of nuclear waste that has been developed in Canada over the past 30 years, and the exponential growth of technology, I believe that it is essential for us to work on and implement strategies that would allow us to extract the fissionable materials from the 'nuclear waste'. The fact that we have the largest uranium reserves in the world does not justify ignoring the reprocessing option. Using 0.5% of the fissionable material in a reactor before calling it waste is blasphemous to the conscientious engineer (in my humble opinion).

If hydrogen is truly the fuel of the future, then logically nuclear will be a very large component, for hydrogen generation indeed. Thus the number of nuclear facilities will increase and the need for reprocessing will become more critical. I think we should work with our continental neighbors, to develop a single reprocessing site for the entire continent. This would probably be the most economical.

I have been over several arguments for future energy requirements. I consider myself an environmentalists and see hydrogen derived from a nuclear source as the most logical by a long shot.