Key Issues
Fact Sheets
Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants
This fact sheet explains the process of decommissioning a nuclear power plant after it is removed from service. This regulated process includes the removal and disposal of radioactive components and materials. The nuclear energy industry has decommissioned more than 70 test, demonstration and power reactors since 1960. Companies put aside funding for decommissioning during plant operations.
Disposal of Low-Level Radioactive Waste
This fact sheet explains that the various beneficial uses of radioactive materials—including electricity generation and medical treatments—result in low-level waste items such as protective clothing and laboratory supplies, and equipment from nuclear power plants. The fact sheet then details the regulations and procedures for disposing of low-level waste at facilities that pose no hazard to surrounding communities or the employees who work there.
Experience, Testing Confirm Transportation of Used Nuclear Fuel Is Safe, Reliable
The nuclear energy industry has completed more than 3,000 shipments of used nuclear fuel over the past 40 years with no injuries, fatalities or environmental damage as a result of the radioactive nature of the cargo, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Frequently Asked Questions: Yucca Mountain and Used Nuclear Fuel Management
The Congress and the president in 2002 approved Yucca Mountain, Nev., as the site of the nation’s repository for used nuclear fuel and high-level defense waste. The industry concurs with the sound scientific conclusion that the proposed repository will protect public health and safety and supports its development.
Safely Managing Used Nuclear Fuel
Used fuel is a solid material that is stored safely at nuclear power plant sites. The U.S. Energy Department is developing a repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., for disposal of used fuel. It is also researching new fuel treatment technologies that may reduce the amount of byproducts for disposal.
Status of Used Nuclear Fuel Storage at U.S. Commercial Nuclear Plants
This list details the year in which commercial nuclear plants in the United States run out of on-site storage space in the pools that hold used fuel assemblies after they are removed from the reactor.
Transporting Radioactive Materials
The nuclear industry has safely transported more than 45 million packages of radioactive materials. Strict packaging and handling requirements help ensure the industry will maintain its excellent safety record.
Used Fuel Secure at Nuclear Power Plants, Could Not Be Used to Make a ‘Dirty Bomb’
Used nuclear fuel is safely and securely stored at nuclear power plant sites, either in steel-lined, concrete vaults filled with water or in steel-and-concrete containers with steel inner canisters. The possibility of utilizing used nuclear fuel for a “dirty bomb” is fraught with practical and logistical obsta-cles that would render such a scenario essentially impossible. A “dirty bomb” is a bomb made of conventional explosives covered with radioactive material that would be used by terrorists to spread radiation.
Yucca Mountain Licensing Process Ensures Safe Used Fuel Disposal Facility
Following approval of Yucca Mountain, Nev., as the site of a federal repository for used nuclear fuel and high-level defense waste, the project has advanced to the licensing stage.
