A Comprehensive Approach to Deal with the Nuclear Waste Problem - 11452

It is desirable to devise a solution for the fuel cycle back-end that is acceptable from the society as well as technologically and economically viable. While satisfactory technological solutions exist, they only address portions of the overall problem. A fully integrated effective solution satisfying all public concerns has yet to be developed. In particular, we aim to establish a comprehensive requirements-driven approach. In this approach, requirements are defined for the high-level wastes with the intent not only to satisfy all technical constraints but also to make them “acceptable” to the public perception. Only then, the best mix of nuclear reactors, reprocessing and fuel forms is examined to determine an effective, viable overall system. One intended benefit of the proposed strategy is that there is no a priori bias for or against any specific nuclear system. In fact, a mix of several different systems will likely provide an optimum solution, promoting collaboration between the relevant industry and research entities in the fuel-cycle back-end activities. INTRODUCTION When devising a long-term solution for the fuel cycle back-end, it is necessary to consider not only technical requirements and economics, but also the acceptability from the societal viewpoint, including public acceptance. Technological solutions have been sought for and in many case successfully developed to address specific issues and portions of the fuel cycle. However, a fully integrated solution satisfying all public concerns has yet to be developed. Two major global requirements are: (i) sustainability; and (ii) effective long-term management of spent nuclear fuel / nuclear waste. This paper focuses on the latter, which has also been the main focus of public attention and a conditio sine qua non for public acceptance. Traditionally, a search for an effective solution has focused on a specific reactor type and was driven by the fuel cycle front-end and core residence time. In this work we aim to establish a comprehensive approach where the search for a solution is driven from the fuel cycle back-end, with the primary intent of devising a system that generates “acceptable” wastes. US HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) reprocessing has been pursued and performed on a small scale in the US in 1970’s, then halted for almost 30 years for policy but also economic reasons. In the meantime, efforts have focused on managing the high level waste (HLW) from the once-through fuel cycle. This approach converged in the proposed construction of the Yucca Mountain