Nonproliferation and spent fuel disposal policy. Final report

Technical Report · Wed Oct 29 04:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:5322255

Chow, B G; Jones, G S

In order to reconcile the need for progress in nuclear waste management with the suspension of commercial reprocessing, this study recommends that spent fuel be placed in temporary storage for 20 years and then permanently disposed of. Such a scheme would always retain in retrievable storage a sufficient amount of plutonium for breeder R and D and commercialization programs using optimistic schedules for breeder deployment in the U.S. and Japan. The amount of fissile material in the permanently disposed of spent fuel would rise from 5 percent of cumulative uranium requirements in 2000 to a maximum of only 15 percent after 2025. These marginal losses of fissile material would be outweighed by lesser reprocessing costs and proliferation risks, not to mention progress in waste management. The study also recommends that the RDandD program on sub-seabed disposal be assigned a priority equal to that of the land-based program, in light of the possibility of an unfavorable political climate surrounding sites for the latter.

• Research Organization: Pan Heuristics, Marina del Ray, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5322255
• Report Number(s): PB-81-196966
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050900 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290600 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
ACTINIDES
BREEDER REACTORS
ELEMENTS
MANAGEMENT
MARINE DISPOSAL
METALS
PLUTONIUM
PROLIFERATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
REACTORS
RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOVERY
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
STORAGE
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
URANIUM
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT