Reprocessing operations make it possible to achieve a reduction in both the inventory of very long-lived radiotoxic radionuclides and the volume of high — level waste by extracting and recycling plutonium and uranium. Vitrification then conditions this waste into a disposable waste form. Partitioning and transmutation would further reduce the long-lived radiotoxicity of the waste by removing (partitioning) the minor actinides and then fissioning (transmuting) them by recycling in fast neutron reactors. The technical feasibility of transmutation of americium and neptunium has been established for oxide fuel in sodium-cooled fast reactors by the CEA (2004-9).

Other work by the CEA has developed aqueous solution processes such as PUREX to produce new separative processes. Trials have shown that at least 99% of the minor actinides can be recovered and a continuous process was established with a 15 kg inventory of spent fuel.

Once plutonium and uranium are recycled, partitioning of minor actinides and subsequent transmutation, would further reduce the high-level waste radio toxicity at 500 years by a factor of 10 to 100. This technology will require the deployment of a fast-neutron nuclear system and it is envisaged that development will continue as a complement to the new, fourth-generation fast reactors.