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 about one-third of the fuel, consisting of 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.
Used nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants is in solid form. A typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear plant produces enough electricity for 740,000 homes and generates about 20 metric tons of used fuel each year.
The country’s 104 commercial nuclear reactors together produce about 2,000 metric tons of used fuel annually. Today, this used fuel is stored safely and securely at plant sites, either in enclosed, steel-lined vaults filled with water known as used fuel pools or basins, or in steel-and-concrete containers.
Commercial reactor sites have the capability to deploy additional steel-and-concrete containers on site. Many of these containers are licensed both for storage on site and for transport.
Eventually, used fuel will be moved from plant sites to a centralized storage facility, recycling facility or federal repository. The path chosen will depend on the availability of advanced recycling technologies, the location of the nuclear plants and the age of the used fuel at the time it 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 about one-third of the fuel, consisting of 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.
Used nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants is in solid form. A typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear plant produces enough electricity for 740,000 homes and generates about 20 metric tons of used fuel each year.
The country’s 104 commercial nuclear reactors together produce about 2,000 metric tons of used fuel annually. Today, this used fuel is stored safely and securely at plant sites, either in enclosed, steel-lined vaults filled with water known as used fuel pools or basins, or in steel-and-concrete containers.
Commercial reactor sites have the capability to deploy additional steel-and-concrete containers on site. Many of these containers are licensed both for storage on site and for transport.
Eventually, used fuel will be moved from plant sites to a centralized storage facility, recycling facility or federal repository. The path chosen will depend on the availability of advanced recycling technologies, the location of the nuclear plants and the age of the used fuel at the time it is removed from the reactor sites. Under any scenario, a permanent geologic disposal facility is necessary.
