Used Nuclear Fuel

The United States must establish a sustainable national program—supported by dedicated funding—to permanently dispose of this fuel. 

Over the past 40 years, industry has loaded and safely maintained over 4,000 dry used fuel storage systems at reactor sites. These robust containers stand ready for shipment to a permanent disposal  facility.  Consolidated storage facilities and recycling technologies may be deployed along the way to augment the disposal system.  Whatever the final path looks like, it is long past time for the federal government to do its part. 
 

How Did We Get Here?

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) codified the U.S. Department of Energy’s responsibility for developing a geologic repository for used nuclear fuel. In 2002, the president and Congress approved Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the site for this repository. In 2010, however, the DOE shut down the Yucca Mountain project without citing any technical or safety issues. Work at Yucca Mountain has been on hold while the nation considers potential alternatives and looks to adopt more modern approaches to repository development.

Meanwhile, the inventory of used fuel has now grown to more than 96,000 metric tons while the taxpayer liability for government inaction continues to increase.

Learn More

Steps We Can Take

NEI has established policy principles for the U.S. to have a durable, safe, environmentally sustainable, and well-run used fuel management and disposal system by 2050.

To achieve this vision, the industry has identified eight essential elements for the U.S. used fuel management program:

1. Effective governance structure
2. Strategic use of the Nuclear Waste Fund
3. Preservation of contract rights
4. Collaborative siting processes
5. Operational disposal infrastructure
6. Flexible interim storage solutions
7. Sustainable recycling initiatives
8. Public and political support

Find Out More About NEI's Used Fuel Policy Principle

Watch how used fuel is safely transported

Recycling Used Nuclear Fuel

With next generation advanced reactors under development, many developers are looking at a suite of recycling technologies, beyond current approaches, that could potentially allow for greater use of the energy in used fuel. There are a wide range of innovative advanced reactor designs being considered and each would call for different feedstock strategies. There also are developing technologies that would extract valuable radioisotopes (e.g., for medical purposes) from used fuel. In both cases, feedstock could be produced by recycling used fuel of all types discharged from current light water reactors or—in the future—used fuel from advanced reactors. The U.S. Department of Energy has entered into several agreements with developers to fund research and development of these recycling technologies.

NEI has adopted the following principles to guide industry’s efforts to advance recycling technologies.

• Recycling would not replace the need for disposal in a geologic repository. Even in an integrated used fuel management program that includes recycling, a geologic repository would remain necessary because some radioactive byproducts will require permanent disposal. Co‐locating recycling facilities with repository and consolidated interim storage facilities has the potential to provide potential host communities with additional economic benefits.
• Recycling technologies should further clean energy and sustainability goals. The existing inventory of used nuclear fuel contains the energy potential to provide the U.S. with many additional decades of carbon‐free electricity.
• Recycling technologies should increase the economic competitiveness of future nuclear reactors. In the future, it may be more cost effective to produce new fuel with used nuclear feedstock than by beginning with natural uranium—lowering electricity bills, spurring economic growth, and improving energy equity. 
• Recycling should help improve U.S. energy security. Recycling, in conjunction with increased domestic uranium production, could enable a long‐term strategy to reduce U.S. dependence on imported uranium nuclear fuel. 
• The U.S. should support research, development, and demonstration of used nuclear fuel recycling technologies
• Recycling technologies should avoid unacceptable proliferation risks. U.S. recycling efforts should be guided by best practices established through global experience to date.
• The NRC should license recycling facilities under its current regulations and implement innovative approaches to achieve timely reviews of recycling facilities. The NRC will need to develop its workforce consistent with the need to license and inspect recycling facilities in the future.

Learn More About Nuclear Fuel Recycling

A Quick Lesson on Used Nuclear Fuel in America

Over the past 40 years, industry has loaded and safely maintained over 4,000 dry used fuel storage systems at reactor sites. These robust containers stand ready for shipment to a permanent disposal facility.  Consolidated storage facilities and recycling technologies may be deployed along the way to augment the disposal system.  Whatever the final path looks like, it is long past time for the federal government to do its part.