In the course of producing electrical power in light water reactors (LWRs), the uranium<br/>fuel accumulates fission products until the fission process is no longer efficient for power<br/>production. At that point the fuel is removed from the reactor and stored in water basins<br/>to allow radioactivity to partially decay before further disposition. This fuel is referred<br/>to as &quot;spent fuel.&quot; Although spent fuel as it is discharged from a reactor is intensely<br/>radioactive, it has been stored safely in moderate quantities for decades.