Lessons learned from a review of international approaches to spent fuel management

Abstract

Worldwide, a variety of approaches to the management of spent fuel have been adopted. A review of approaches adopted internationally was undertaken to inform decision making on spent fuel management in UK. The review surveyed spent fuel storage and disposal practices, standards, trends and recent developments in 16 countries and carried out more detailed studies into the evolution of spent fuel storage and disposal strategies in four countries. The review highlighted that: (1) spent fuel management should be aligned to the national policy for final dispositioning of the fuel; (2) national spent fuel storage arrangements should deliver efficiency across all spent fuel management activities; (3) commercial and financial arrangements should ensure that spent fuel management decisions do not unnecessarily limit future fuel handling, packaging and disposal activities; (4) extended storage of spent fuel prior to packaging provides increased flexibility in the design of future packaging and disposal concepts. Storage of spent fuel over 100 years or more using existing technologies is technically feasible and operationally credible. Local factors such as existing infrastructure, approach to fuel cycle management, existing experience/capability and short-term cash flow considerations all influence technology selection. Both wet and dry storage systems continue to receive regulatory approval and are acceptable.