Icefire

But it works, and the process can be refined with more research.

i was thinking also that if the waste is ground up into dust, it would release the energy quicker. a refinery would have a shielded tank where the stuff is kept, then there would be a metering system that would release packets of the dust at a constant rate to control the rate of the heating/whatever. also, would a generator relying on the thermoelectric effect instead of boiling water be more efficient? (assuming it works in real life)

or whatever is the majority of the energy, I really don't know. But if we can measure it and it's influences we should be able to convert it with the right technology.

Because nuclear waste produces a fairly powerful ionizing affect, could it be possible to create a generator of some sort that will absorb the ionizing energy and convert it into something useful such as electricity or matter which has energy potential that is easier to convert? We can detect that Nuclear waste has a significant amount of energy, so we should be able to convert it into something useful in a large enough amount to power even a city (with enough waste). this could also cause the waste to lose it's radioactivity, making it easier to recycle.