Nuclear plants, like all sources of energy, produce waste while generating electricity, but it’s not glowing green goo like you see in some movies or The Simpsons.
What Is Used Fuel?
Used fuel is much different from what you might think.
- When most people talk about nuclear waste, they’re referring to fuel that’s been used in a reactor once. Most of the radioactivity associated with nuclear power remains contained in the fuel in which it was produced. Nuclear fuel is used to produce electricity for about five years. Then, it’s removed and safely stored until a permanent disposal site becomes available. Nuclear plants also produce low-level radioactive waste which is safely managed and routinely disposed of at various sites around the country.
- It is a solid. Nuclear fuel is solid when it goes in a reactor and solid when it comes out. It is arranged in fuel assemblies: sets of sealed metal tubes that hold ceramic uranium pellets. The radioactive byproducts of nuclear reactions remain inside the fuel. No green goo anywhere.
- There is not that much of it. All the used fuel created by fueling one person's entire life with nuclear can fit in a soda can.
- It can still be used for energy. Used fuel has only exhausted part of the potential energy in the uranium pellets after five years in a reactor. Some countries like France reprocess and recycle nuclear fuel, extracting elements still capable of generating energy for use in new fuel, and then encasing the radioactive byproducts in solid glass logs for permanent disposal. The United States currently does not, but some advanced reactor designs in development would be able to run on recycled used fuel. Advancements in recycling may allow used fuel to become a valuable resource that enhances economic competitiveness of nuclear reactors and strengthens U.S. energy security.
- Advanced reactors will create opportunity for future innovation in used fuel management. With electricity demand surging, a wide range of new reactor designs are coming to market. Many of these will run on fuels that are different than those in use today. When discharged from reactors, these fuels will be handled in accordance with the same safety standards that apply to today’s fuels. And many advanced reactor developers are evaluating storage, recycling, transportation, and disposal pathways alongside reactor and fuel design, creating opportunities for innovation across the nuclear fuel cycle.
Is Nuclear Waste Handled Safely?
- Absolutely. The nuclear industry handles used fuel safely and in compliance with the stringent requirements of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And has for more than six decades!
- Commercial nuclear plants in the United States began storing used nuclear fuel in onsite pools in the 1960s. As storage needs grew, the industry developed dry cask storage systems, which have been used safely and securely since the mid-1980s. These systems are currently licensed into the 2060s, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has concluded that used nuclear fuel can be stored safely for at least 100 years.
What Happens to Used Fuel?
- When cool enough that it no longer needs to be stored underwater—typically 2 to 5 years after removal from the reactor—used fuel is transferred and stored in large steel-reinforced concrete containers (the dry cask storage systems described above) which are designed for long term storage until a site is available for permanent disposal. They’re safe enough to walk up to and touch.
- The final step in the process is permanent disposal deep underground in a facility known as a geologic repository. The science behind disposal is well established, and repositories are being developed around the globe. Finland’s repository is licensed, constructed, and in the final testing phase. Sweden has approved a site and has a facility under construction. Canada and Switzerland have selected sites and are in the licensing process. Seven other nations are actively seeking sites.
- In the United States, Yucca Mountain, Nevada was designated as the nation’s repository site for permanent disposal. While the site showed scientific and technical promise, the project was halted and later defunded by Congress. Nevertheless, important lessons gained from the Yucca Mountain program can that can inform future siting efforts. Wherever the U.S. ultimately locates a repository, NEI’s used fuel policy principles describe the essential elements of an effective program to bring it to completion.
- Consolidated interim storage sites also have been proposed so that used fuel can be more efficiently managed until a disposal site becomes available. However, consolidated storage does not eliminate the need for permanent disposal.
- Recycling technologies also are receiving renewed attention because they may allow useful components of the used fuel to be recovered and reused to produce additional energy before disposing of the remaining radioactive byproducts. Interest in recycling has grown in recent years as part of broader efforts to strengthen domestic energy security and rebuild the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle. However, recycling also does not eliminate the need for permanent disposal.
- Future siting decisions should be made with support and collaboration from tribal, state, and local governments, resulting in widely accepted locations for used fuel management facilities. Reflecting this approach, DOE has proposed Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses that would integrate storage, disposal, recycling, advanced nuclear deployment, and other fuel-cycle capabilities through collaboration among the federal government, states, communities, and tribes. This type of collaborative, integrated approach has the potential to align the U.S. program more closely with those that have been successful in other countries.
NEI’s new policy principles for used fuel outline a path to the U.S. having a durable, safe, environmentally sustainable, and well-run used fuel management and disposal system. To learn more about NEI’s policy principles, click here.
