Key Issues
Safely Managing Used Nuclear Fuel
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Interim Options: Expanding On-Site Storage
The delay in the construction of the repository has forced nuclear power plants to store more used fuel on site than expected for longer than originally intended. The result is that many nuclear plants are running out of existing storage capacity. When a plant’s used fuel pool nears its designed capacity, a company has two options.
Expanding Pool Capacity
Typically, the first choice is to re-rack the used fuel pool, moving the fuel assemblies closer together. More than 130 re-rackings have been completed safely at various nuclear plant sites. But re-racking has its limitations.
Eventually, even re-racked pools reach their capacity. Building a new used fuel basin is not an option due to the expense and the lack of room to fit such an extensive new structure inside the plant layout. Although a few companies have shipped used fuel from one plant to another with extra storage capacity, this option is not available to most companies.
Container Storage
Most nuclear plants have used the additional capacity gained by re-racking, and a growing number have built or are building storage facilities on or near the plant sites using concrete-and-steel bunkers or storage containers on concrete pads.
About one-half of U.S. nuclear plants are storing used fuel in large, rugged containers made of steel or steel-reinforced concrete. These dry storage containers use materials like steel, concrete and lead—instead of water—as a radiation shield. Depending on the design, a container can hold up to 56 fuel assemblies.
The NRC has certified several container designs for use by utilities. The containers have a 20-year license. After 20 years, they must be inspected and, with NRC approval, the license could be extended for another 20 to 40 years.
Loaded containers are filled with an inert gas such as helium, sealed, and stored either on reinforced concrete pads or in concrete bunkers. The containers are designed to prevent the release of radioactivity while withstanding natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes and floods. The designs require no mechanical devices for cooling and ventilation.
Building a dry storage facility at a plant site requires an initial investment of $10 million to $20 million. Once the facility is operational, it will cost $5 million to $7 million a year for the maintenance and security of the facility and for adding more containers as storage needs grow. These costs are in addition to the fee that electricity consumers pay into the Nuclear Waste Fund.
Interim Options: Expanding On-Site Storage
The delay in the construction of the repository has forced nuclear power plants to store more used fuel on site than expected for longer than originally intended. The result is that many nuclear plants are running out of existing storage capacity. When a plant’s used fuel pool nears its designed capacity, a company has two options.
Expanding Pool Capacity
Typically, the first choice is to re-rack the used fuel pool, moving the fuel assemblies closer together. More than 130 re-rackings have been completed safely at various nuclear plant sites. But re-racking has its limitations.
Eventually, even re-racked pools reach their capacity. Building a new used fuel basin is not an option due to the expense and the lack of room to fit such an extensive new structure inside the plant layout. Although a few companies have shipped used fuel from one plant to another with extra storage capacity, this option is not available to most companies.
Container Storage
Most nuclear plants have used the additional capacity gained by re-racking, and a growing number have built or are building storage facilities on or near the plant sites using concrete-and-steel bunkers or storage containers on concrete pads.
About one-half of U.S. nuclear plants are storing used fuel in large, rugged containers made of steel or steel-reinforced concrete. These dry storage containers use materials like steel, concrete and lead—instead of water—as a radiation shield. Depending on the design, a container can hold up to 56 fuel assemblies.
The NRC has certified several container designs for use by utilities. The containers have a 20-year license. After 20 years, they must be inspected and, with NRC approval, the license could be extended for another 20 to 40 years.
Loaded containers are filled with an inert gas such as helium, sealed, and stored either on reinforced concrete pads or in concrete bunkers. The containers are designed to prevent the release of radioactivity while withstanding natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes and floods. The designs require no mechanical devices for cooling and ventilation.
Building a dry storage facility at a plant site requires an initial investment of $10 million to $20 million. Once the facility is operational, it will cost $5 million to $7 million a year for the maintenance and security of the facility and for adding more containers as storage needs grow. These costs are in addition to the fee that electricity consumers pay into the Nuclear Waste Fund.
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