Bulletin article argues for more certainty in advanced reactor waste management

The article, “Small and Advanced Nuclear Reactors: Closing the Fuel Cycle?” by U.K. academics and government officials, notes that while there are more than 80 novel designs of small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors in existence and under development, there is no clear plan for how the radioactive waste generated from these reactors will be managed and ultimately disposed.

Without a clear path to treatment and disposal, spent nuclear fuel generated by small and advanced reactors could result in “staggeringly high and unconstrained costs,” the authors argue, preventing new nuclear from living up to its “clean” energy potential.

The article advises that reactor vendors “work with waste management organizations and regulators at an early stage to consider spent fuel management, waste treatment, conditioning, storage, and disposal, as well as reactor decommissioning, up front, at the conceptual design phase.” Such foresight, the authors argue, will provide investors with certainty regarding the lifetime costs of the reactors and assuage the concerns of the public regarding the safe management of the wastes.

Different levels of certainty: The Bulletin article notes that there are varying levels of certainty regarding waste management of potential new small and advanced reactor designs, with the most amount of certainty found in those using existing LWR-type technology, for which there are already established practices, regulations, and experience in waste management.

Reactors that use new fuels, such as TRISO fuel, which shares features with existing waste but may present some novel challenges in terms of disposability, present a medium level of uncertainty. Meanwhile, advanced experimental reactors that use metallic fuels have a high level of uncertainty.

The level of uncertainty in a reactor’s waste management can hinder long-term decision making, the authors argue. “In general, detailed reactor specifications do not yet exist, so it is difficult to undertake quantitative analysis to determine how much waste, and of what type, will be generated from a given reactor, and what the associated fuel cycle costs will be,” the report states.