Presentation made at International Conference on The Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors, An Integrated approach to the Back-End of the Fuel Cycle (IAEA-CN-226). The purpose of the conference was to highlight the importance of an integrated long-term approach to the management of spent fuel from nuclear power reactors.
Dry cask storage systems are deployed at nuclear power plants for used nuclear fuel (UNF)
As nuclear power plants began to run out of storage capacity in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage pools, many nuclear operating companies added higher density pool storage racks to increase pool capacity. Most nuclear power plant storage pools have been re-racked one or more times. As many spent fuel storage pools were re-racked to the maximum extent possible, nuclear operating companies began to employ interim dry storage technologies to store SNF in certified casks and canister-based systems outside of the storage pool in independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs).
This presentation was given by Earl Easton at the 2011 National State Liaison Officers Conference in Bethesda, MD.
The presentation highlights the current state of spent nuclear fuel as well as the progress toward its ultimate disposal.
Presented at the NEI Used Fuel Management Conference, St. Petersburg, FL, May 7-9, 2013
This report was prepared in accordance with Technical Work Plan for: Regulatory Integration Modeling and Analysis of the Waste Form and Waste Package (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171583]). This report provides information on the phase stability of Alloy 221, the current waste package outer barrier material. The goal of this model is to determine whether the single-phase solid solution is stable under repository conditions and, if not, how fast other phases may precipitate.
The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (Board) is tasked by the amendments to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to independently evaluate U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) technical activities for managing and disposing of used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. This report was prepared to inform DOE and Congress about the current state of the technical basis for extended dry storage1 of used fuel and its transportation following storage.
Because there is currently no designated disposal site for used nuclear fuel in the United States, the nation faces the prospect of extended long‐term storage (i.e., >60 years) and deferred transportation of used fuel at operating and decommissioned nuclear power plant sites. Under U.S. federal regulations contained in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 72.42, the initial license term for an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) must not exceed 40 years from the date of issuance. Licenses may be renewed by the U.S.
The amount of spent fuel stored on-site at commercial nuclear reactors will continue to accumulate—increasing by about 2,000 metric tons per year and likely more than doubling to about 140,000 metric tons—before it can be moved off-site, because storage or disposal facilities may take decades to develop. In examining centralized storage or permanent disposal options, GAO found that new facilities may take from 15 to 40 years before they are ready to begin accepting spent fuel. Once an off-site facility is available, it will take several more decades to ship spent fuel to that facility.
