Key Issues
Advanced Fuel-Cycle Technologies Hold Promise for Used Fuel Management Program
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Industry Supports Integrated Used Fuel Management Strategy
The nuclear energy industry supports a three-pronged, integrated used fuel management strategy that includes:
Used fuel storage at nuclear plants sites is safe and secure. However, consolidated interim storage sites at volunteer locations would enable the movement of used fuel from both operating and decommissioned nuclear plants before recycling facilities begin operating. Preferably, interim storage sites would be at locations where advanced fuel-cycle facilities would be developed.
The research, development and commercial demonstration of advanced nuclear fuel-cycle technologies will take several decades and billions of dollars to complete. The industry supports research and development into advanced fuel cycles. The pursuit of this longer-term objective, however, must not compromise the federal government’s obligation under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to manage used commercial reactor fuel.
DOE is developing a permanent disposal facility for used nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain, Nev. Congress approved Yucca Mountain as the repository site in 2002, and the Energy Department expects to file a license application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build the facility in June 2008.
Evaluating Closing the Fuel Cycle for the Long Term
The United States, for economic reasons, does not recycle reactor fuel. However, to realize nuclear energy’s long-term economic and environmental benefits, the industry endorses the federal government’s plan to evaluate closing the fuel cycle, including the benefits and availability of advanced recycling technologies.
In the current commercial reactor fuel cycle, reactor fuel is used once and then removed from the reactor for disposal in a specially designed repository. However, in other nations, such as France, Japan and the United Kingdom, reactor fuel is recycled and reused. Ultimately, the remaining byproducts will be sent to a repository for disposal.
In the United States, such a “closed” fuel cycle would include the following:
The nuclear fuel cycle could be closed after commercial development of the advanced reprocessing and recycling, fuel-fabrication, and reactor technologies and when the economic and environmental benefits can be realized. This development will take decades, so it is appropriate that the federal government vigorously pursue research and development efforts now on these technologies under the AFCI program.
Developing advanced fuel cycles encompasses more than the development of advanced reprocessing and recycling technology. It involves developing the capability to manufacture a new type of reactor fuel from the elements of used fuel made available by advanced reprocessing, and developing new reactor designs to use this type of fuel.
Advanced fuel-cycle technologies cannot eliminate all of the byproducts in used nuclear fuel. Moreover, the systems eventually developed may not have the capacity to recycle all commercial used fuel ever generated. The United States needs a federal repository for disposal of commercial reactor fuel and its byproducts and disposal of high-level radioactive waste created by the federal government during the Cold War. Most of the material resulting from defense programs is stored temporarily in Idaho, South Carolina and Washington state.
Industry Supports Integrated Used Fuel Management Strategy
The nuclear energy industry supports a three-pronged, integrated used fuel management strategy that includes:
- interim storage
- research, development and commercial demonstration to close the nuclear fuel cycle
- development of a permanent disposal facility.
Used fuel storage at nuclear plants sites is safe and secure. However, consolidated interim storage sites at volunteer locations would enable the movement of used fuel from both operating and decommissioned nuclear plants before recycling facilities begin operating. Preferably, interim storage sites would be at locations where advanced fuel-cycle facilities would be developed.
The research, development and commercial demonstration of advanced nuclear fuel-cycle technologies will take several decades and billions of dollars to complete. The industry supports research and development into advanced fuel cycles. The pursuit of this longer-term objective, however, must not compromise the federal government’s obligation under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to manage used commercial reactor fuel.
DOE is developing a permanent disposal facility for used nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain, Nev. Congress approved Yucca Mountain as the repository site in 2002, and the Energy Department expects to file a license application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build the facility in June 2008.
Evaluating Closing the Fuel Cycle for the Long Term
The United States, for economic reasons, does not recycle reactor fuel. However, to realize nuclear energy’s long-term economic and environmental benefits, the industry endorses the federal government’s plan to evaluate closing the fuel cycle, including the benefits and availability of advanced recycling technologies.
In the current commercial reactor fuel cycle, reactor fuel is used once and then removed from the reactor for disposal in a specially designed repository. However, in other nations, such as France, Japan and the United Kingdom, reactor fuel is recycled and reused. Ultimately, the remaining byproducts will be sent to a repository for disposal.
In the United States, such a “closed” fuel cycle would include the following:
- new fuel-fabrication technologies
- advanced used fuel reprocessing techniques
- advanced reactors to extract additional energy from the recycled fuel and further reduce the volume, heat and radiotoxicity of byproducts in the fuel
- a federal repository.
The nuclear fuel cycle could be closed after commercial development of the advanced reprocessing and recycling, fuel-fabrication, and reactor technologies and when the economic and environmental benefits can be realized. This development will take decades, so it is appropriate that the federal government vigorously pursue research and development efforts now on these technologies under the AFCI program.
Developing advanced fuel cycles encompasses more than the development of advanced reprocessing and recycling technology. It involves developing the capability to manufacture a new type of reactor fuel from the elements of used fuel made available by advanced reprocessing, and developing new reactor designs to use this type of fuel.
Advanced fuel-cycle technologies cannot eliminate all of the byproducts in used nuclear fuel. Moreover, the systems eventually developed may not have the capacity to recycle all commercial used fuel ever generated. The United States needs a federal repository for disposal of commercial reactor fuel and its byproducts and disposal of high-level radioactive waste created by the federal government during the Cold War. Most of the material resulting from defense programs is stored temporarily in Idaho, South Carolina and Washington state.
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