When it comes to the thorny issue of radioactive waste disposal, the nuclear industry has solved most of the scientific problems but still has a long way to go in solving the political problems.

Over the years, several suggestions for dealing with the problem of nuclear waste have been made, from dumping it on the ocean floor to shooting it into space. But most experts think the best way of storing waste for the many thousands of years it will take for it to stop being hazardous is to bury it deep underground in sealed repositories.