Key Issues
Safely Managing Used Nuclear Fuel
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Solid Used Fuel: Small Volumes, Safely Stored
To generate electricity, nuclear power plants use uranium oxide fuel—in the form of small ceramic pellets—that is placed inside metal fuel rods. These rods are grouped into bundles called assemblies. Fission—the splitting of uranium atoms in a chain reaction—produces a tremendous amount of heat energy for the amount of material consumed. This energy is used to boil water into steam, which drives a turbine generator to produce electricity.
Every 18 to 24 months, the plant is shut down and the oldest fuel assemblies—which have released a considerable amount of energy but have become intensely radioactive as a result of fission—are removed and replaced.
All the used nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants is in solid form. A typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant produces enough electricity for 740,000 homes and about 20 metric tons of used uranium fuel each year.
The country’s 103 commercial nuclear reactors together produce about 2,000 metric tons of used fuel annually. Today, this used fuel is stored safely at plant sites, either in steel-lined vaults filled with water or steel-and-concrete containers.
Commercial reactor sites have the capability to deploy additional steel-and-concrete containers in on-site facilities. Many of these containers are licensed for both storage on site and transport to the repository. In addition, DOE is developing multipurpose containers that will minimize the need for handling used fuel packages.
Eventually, DOE will move the used fuel from plant sites to a centralized federal storage facility, recycling facility or federal repository. The path chosen will depend on the state of recycling technologies, such as those proposed under GNEP, at the time fuel is removed from the reactor sites. Under any scenario, a permanent geologic disposal facility is necessary.
Solid Used Fuel: Small Volumes, Safely Stored
To generate electricity, nuclear power plants use uranium oxide fuel—in the form of small ceramic pellets—that is placed inside metal fuel rods. These rods are grouped into bundles called assemblies. Fission—the splitting of uranium atoms in a chain reaction—produces a tremendous amount of heat energy for the amount of material consumed. This energy is used to boil water into steam, which drives a turbine generator to produce electricity.
Every 18 to 24 months, the plant is shut down and the oldest fuel assemblies—which have released a considerable amount of energy but have become intensely radioactive as a result of fission—are removed and replaced.
All the used nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants is in solid form. A typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant produces enough electricity for 740,000 homes and about 20 metric tons of used uranium fuel each year.
The country’s 103 commercial nuclear reactors together produce about 2,000 metric tons of used fuel annually. Today, this used fuel is stored safely at plant sites, either in steel-lined vaults filled with water or steel-and-concrete containers.
Commercial reactor sites have the capability to deploy additional steel-and-concrete containers in on-site facilities. Many of these containers are licensed for both storage on site and transport to the repository. In addition, DOE is developing multipurpose containers that will minimize the need for handling used fuel packages.
Eventually, DOE will move the used fuel from plant sites to a centralized federal storage facility, recycling facility or federal repository. The path chosen will depend on the state of recycling technologies, such as those proposed under GNEP, at the time fuel is removed from the reactor sites. Under any scenario, a permanent geologic disposal facility is necessary.
