Key Facts

• Since the early 1970s, there have been at least 20,000 safe shipments of more than 80,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel worldwide, none of which has involved any harmful release of radioactive material or personal injury.
• Most of the used nuclear fuel in the United States remains at the reactors that generated it. Most of the shipments that have taken place have been between reactor sites for storage or to commercial reprocessing and storage facilities.
• The transportation of civilian used nuclear fuel in the United States is regulated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The NRC approves the design, fabrication, use and maintenance of shipping containers and regulates security of the used fuel. DOT regulates the shipping routes and transportation conveyances. Transportation containers are designed to protect the public from releases of radioactive material in the unlikely event of an accident.
• Under current law, the U.S. Department of Energy is responsible for shipping the used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plant sites to a specially designed repository for permanent disposal. With efforts to develop a repository currently stalled by lack of congressional action, interim storage facilities have been proposed where used fuel from many reactor sites can be consolidated.

Used Nuclear Fuel Transportation Experience

According to the NRC, more than 1,300 spent fuel shipments have been completed safely in the United States over the past 35 years. Most of the used fuel was shipped by rail. As a result of robust transportation container design and stringent safety measures, all of these used fuel shipments have been safely completed with no harmful release of radioactivity or environmental damage.

The majority of used nuclear fuel in the United States remains at the reactors that generated it. Most of the shipments that have taken place have been between reactor sites for storage or to commercial reprocessing and storage facilities. In recent years, small numbers of used fuel assemblies or individual fuel rods have been transported to research laboratories for post-irradiation examination. DOD also has transported significant amounts of used nuclear fuel from naval and research reactors.

The U.S. Navy has completed nearly 850 shipments of used fuel from naval propulsion reactors, covering 1.6 million transportation miles. In addition, more than 250 transportation containers of used nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors have been transported to and within the United States between 1990 and 2012.

Regulation and Used Fuel Transportation Safety

The transportation of used nuclear fuel in the United States is regulated by the NRC and DOT. The NRC approves the design, fabrication, use and maintenance of shipping containers and regulates security of the used fuel. DOT regulates the shipping routes and transportation conveyances.

Transportation containers for shipping used nuclear fuel are robustly designed to protect the public from releases of radioactive material in the unlikely event of an accident. The designs must meet stringent requirements. To be certified, container designs must demonstrate that they can withstand a rigorous sequence of drop, puncture, fire and submersion tests to confirm their ability to survive a simulated high-speed crash and fire accident without releasing their contents.

Containers for nuclear fuel shipments are fabricated with multiple layers of steel, lead, concrete and other materials to safely confine and shield radiation associated with the used fuel from external entities. Fully loaded containers weigh between 25 tons and 40 tons for truck transport and between 75 tons and 125 tons for rail shipments. Typically, for every ton of used fuel, a container has about 4 tons of protective confinement and shielding.

Future Shipments

In the United States, more than 80,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel are stored at 73 nuclear reactor sites and four DOE facilities in 35 states. This amount increases by about 2,000 metric tons each year. More than 2,700 used fuel storage containers are currently in service at these reactor sites. Most of these are designed to be transportable and their designers have either obtained, or intend to seek, licenses from the NRC for transport.

According to current law, DOE is responsible for shipping the used fuel from these sites to a repository specifically designed for permanent disposal. However, used nuclear fuel may be shipped by or under the auspices of, an entity other than DOE. With efforts to develop a repository currently stalled by lack of congressional action, many have suggested that interim storage facilities be developed where used fuel from many reactor sites (particularly those that are no longer operating) can be consolidated. Two private entities have proposed consolidated interim storage facilities in either Texas or New Mexico. DOE's role in consolidated interim storage is currently undefined. The Department requires congressional action to be able to move forward with a federal facility.

Regardless of the location for shipment, the industry, DOE and NRC are building on the established track record of safe shipment through design and use of robust systems, adherence to strictly enforced regulations and implementation of strict security requirements.