Consolidated Interim Storage of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel

Approximately 54,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel are stored at operating nuclear power
plants and several decommissioned power plants throughout the country. Spent fuel
storage at these sites was never intended to be permanent. The current Federal plan is to
place the fuel in a repository for permanent disposal in Nevada at Yucca Mountain.
Recently, appropriations committees in Congress suggested building one or more Federal
sites for consolidated interim storage of spent fuel. Several reasons were identified. The
schedule for opening Yucca Mountain continues to slip. Further, the Federal government
faces substantial and growing liability costs the longer the spent fuel stays at reactor sites.
Finally, there is a concern that the buildup of spent fuel at reactor sites and lack of
progress on final disposition could be serious constraints on the growth of the domestic
nuclear power industry by discouraging investment in new nuclear power plants and
enhancing the difficulty of siting new nuclear power plants.