No, we are not on the brink of sanitizing nuclear waste. In addition to pjscott's comments, I'd add that I believe that the risk's associated with radiation an

No, we are not on the brink of sanitizing nuclear waste. In addition to pjscott's comments, I'd add that I believe that the risk's associated with radiation and radioactive waste are relatively well understood compared to the risks associated with manufactured chemicals and pharmaceuticals (for example). In these area's, we have a tendency to perform a trivial study of the toxic effects of a compound, release it for general world wide consumption, then decades later figure out the biological and environmental consequences. Another byproduct of western civilization are our various systems for governing nation states. Those systems, in the 20th century alone, caused somewhere between 100 million and 200 million deaths (largely from war, famine and 'democide' initiated by governments, politicians & dictators). I fear chemical compounds whose names I can't pronounce and governments who murder their citizens far more than radiation.