Key Issues Associated with Interim Storage of Used Nuclear Fuel

The issue of interim storage of used (spent)1 fuel is dependent on a number of key factors, some
of which are not known at this time but are the subject of this study. The first is whether or not
the Yucca Mountain Project continues or is cancelled such that it may be able to receive spent
fuel from existing and decommissioned nuclear power stations. The second is whether the United
States will pursue a policy of reprocessing and recycling nuclear fuel. The reprocessing and
recycling option includes recycling spent fuel into a mixed oxide fuel for light water reactors or in
fast reactors that can transmute (burn) actinide wastes or even breed fuel for long term
sustainability of nuclear energy to address potential uranium supply shortages, or all of the above.
The reprocessing option can also be used as part of the waste management strategy to reduce the
volume of high-level waste to be disposed. The third is the time it will take to site one or several
interim storage sites given past unsuccessful efforts. The fourth is the political implication of
allowing used fuel to accumulate at existing nuclear plant sites as it affects their continued
operation and the construction of new nuclear plants presently being considered. Fifth, the length
of time wet or dry cask storage is technically supported with the ultimate need to ship spent fuel
to a disposal, reprocessing or storage site in the future without damage. Last, but not least, is the
cost and challenges associated with the shipment of spent fuel from reactor sites to interim
storage facilities and to the final disposal site as compared to leaving the spent fuel at existing
reactor sites until such time as the policy decisions are made.
Nuclear utilities are anxious to have the spent fuel removed their sites, especially from those
sites where the reactors are decommissioned leaving only the spent fuel. Complicating this issue
further is the issue of utility lawsuits for breach of contract when the Department of Energy did
not begin accepting spent fuel from nuclear sites in 1998. It is estimated that this liability to the
US taxpayer could reach $11 Billion.
The purpose of this study is to examine these key aspects of interim spent fuel storage in
more detail.