Spent fuel, disposal

Tuff, a compressed volcanic material, is the primary constituent of Yucca Mountain, near Las Vegas, Nevada, the site selected by Congress in 1987 for assessment for spent fuel disposal. An underground laboratory, to consist of many kilometers of tunnels and test rooms, is to be cut into the mountain with special boring equipment to determine if the site is suitable for a repository. 

Funding for developing commercial waste disposal faciUties is to come from the waste generators. In the case of spent fuel disposal, a Nuclear Waste Fund is accumulating based on an assessment of one mill per kilowatt-hour of electricity. For low level wastes, surcharges on waste disposal and direct assessments of utiUties have been imposed. 

Electric Power Generation. Coal is the primary fuel for thermal electric power generation. Since 1940 the quantity of bituminous coal consumed by electric utilities has grown substantially in each successive decade, and this growth is expected to continue for many years. Coal consumed by electric utilities increased from about 536 x 10 t in 1981 to 689 x 10 t in 1989 (2). The reasons for increased coal demand include availability, relative stability of decreasing coal prices, and lack of problems with spent fuel disposal as experienced in nuclear power plants (see Nuclearreactors). 

The increasing number of atomic reactors used for power generation has been questioned from several environmental points of view. A modern atomic plant, as shown in Fig. 28-3, appears to be relatively pollution free compared to the more familiar fossil fuel-fired plant, which emits carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, hydrocarbons, and fly ash. However, waste and spent-fuel disposal problems may offset the apparent advantages. These problems (along with steam generator leaks) caused the plant shown in Fig. 28-3 to close permanently in 199T. 

CLAB underground spent fuel disposal facility, 17 549 Cladinose, 4 713 Claflin refiner, 15 105 CLAIMS-Citation database, 15 238 CLAIMS-Citation files, 15 247, 248 CLAIMS Compound Registry, 15 247 CLAIMS databases, 15 237, 247 Claisen condensation, 10 505 Claisen-Cope rearrangement, 24 479,... 

Most repository sites under consideration for commercial spent fuel disposal are in reducing environments, such as in Boom clay formations of the Mol site, Belgium, where U02 is thermodynamically stable. In oxygen-free conditions, Spahiu et al. (2002) have shown that fuel in an... 

In this chapter we have attempted to give an overview of current developments concerning waste/water interactions with special emphasis on U02 spent fuel disposal in saturated ground-water conditions and with a specific look at the... 

D. W. Shoesmith, M. Kolar. In Alternative approaches to assessing the performance and suitability of Yucca Mountain for spent fuel disposal. EPRI Report TR-108732, Chap. 5 (1998). 

Finland has a determined and advanced spent fuel disposal program, which was started more than 20 years ago. A general authorisation, including designation of the disposal site, has been made by the Government and endorsed by the Parliament. In mid-2004, construction of an underground rock characterisation facility, which is intended to constitute a part of the repository, was commenced. The construction licence application for the encapsulation and disposal facility will be submitted in 2012 and the operating licence around 2020. 

The new policy led to collaboration between the licensees of the Olkiluoto and Loviisa NPPs and in 1995, they foimded a joint company, Posiva Oy, to continue the spent fuel disposal program. 

The first authorisation step pmsuant to the Finnish nuclear legislation is Government s Decision in Principle (DiP). In the DiP, the political and local acceptance for the nuclear project is requested and it is also crucial to siting the proposed nuclear facility. Posiva submitted its DiP application for building a spent fuel disposal facility at Olkiluoto in 1999. After STUK s positive safety appraisal, the proposed host municipality approved the application and the Finnish Government made the DiP in late 2000. Finally, the Parliament almost imanimously endorsed the DiP half a year later. 

TABLE 1. Implementation and regulatory oversight of the spent fuel disposal program... 

Vieno T. and Nordman H. (1999) Safety assessment of spent fuel disposal in Hastholmen, Kivetty, Olkiluoto and Romuvaara, TILA-99, POSIVA OY. 

Nuclear submarines, decommissioning, London Dumping Convention, spent fuel, damaged fuel, spent fuel disposal... 

S. F. Mobbs, M. P. Harvey, J. S. Martin, A. Mayall and M. E. Jones, Comparison of the Waste Management Aspects of Spent Fuel Disposal and Reprocessing Post Disposal Radiological Impact, NRPB report EUR 13561 EN, UK, 1991. 

Spent fuel disposal Spent fuel disposal Facilities in which spent fuel is disposed permanently... 

In place of two separate spent fuel pit buildings used in CNAI for intermediate storage of spent fuel, a single storage pit is provided inside the containment (Fig. 2). Due to a compact storage system, the capacity is enough for 40 years of operation. This concept allows development of the final spent fuel disposal strategy in parallel with commercial plant operation. 

Reprocessing of the spent fuel of the ININ reactor is not being considered as an option, as TRIGA spent fuel reprocessing has only been demonstrated on a laboratory scale and no commercial service is currently available. As in other countries, the decision on TRIGA spent fuel disposal will be tied to the plans for spent fuel disposal of the nuclear power plants operating in the country. 

PROCESSED SPENT FUEL DISPOSAL NATIONAL CONTEXT... 

As in other countries, the decision on TRIGA spent fuel disposal will be tied to the plans for spent fuel disposal of the nuclear power plants operating in the country. 

Swedish bedrock. However, it was also concluded that much additional research and development work were needed before the KBS concept could be realized. The view that the KBS concept can be used as the main alternative in the industry s R D programme has been reconfirmed in the later reviews of Swedish and Finnish spent fuel disposal programmes [1,2]. It is also clear that before starting to construct the actual facilities, the safety of the selected concept and of its viable alternatives will be thoroughly evaluated. 

Another example of assessment of the basic concept for spent fuel disposal is the Canadian case, where the concept for spent fuel disposal is currently subject to comprehensive regulatory and societal reviews [3]. 

RUOKOLA, E. (Ed), Review of TVO s Spent Fuel Disposal Plans of 1992, Report STUK-B-YTO 121, Firmish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, Helsinki (1994). 

Government policy has been to store vitrified high-level waste for 50 years to allow some decay. Though the storage will last well inu> die next century the GovemmeiU has decided to take a proactive interest in disposal now. Research programmes will also consider spent fuel disposal. 

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