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Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel

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Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel A Safe, Flexible, and Cost-Effective Near-Term Approach to Spent Fuel Management A Joint Report from the Harvard University Project on Managing the Atom and the University of Tokyo Project on Sociotechnics of Nuclear Energy Matthew Bunn Harvard University University of Tokyo John P. Holdren Allison Macfarlane Susan E. Pickett Atsuyuki Suzuki Project on Managing Tatsujiro Suzuki Project on Sociotechnics the Atom of Nuclear Energy Jennifer Weeks June, 2001 Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel A Safe, Flexible, and Cost-Effective Near-Term Approach to Spent Fuel Management Matthew Bunn John P. Holdren Allison Macfarlane Susan E. Pickett Atsuyuki Suzuki Tatsujiro Suzuki Jennifer Weeks A Joint Report from the Harvard University Project on Managing the Atom and the University of Tokyo Project on Sociotechnics of Nuclear Energy June, 2001 © 2001 Harvard University and University of Tokyo Printed in the United States of America The co-sponsors of this report invite liberal use of the information provided in it for educational purposes, requiring only that the reproduced material clearly state: Reproduced from Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel: A Safe, Flexible, and Cost-Effective Near-Term Approach to Spent Fuel Management (Cambridge, MA: Managing the Atom Project, Harvard University, and Project on Socio-technics of Nuclear Energy, University of Tokyo, 2001). The full text of this report is available at the web sites of Harvard University’s Managing the Atom Project and the Suzuki Laboratory in the University of Tokyo’s Department of Quantum Engineering and Systems Science: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/bcsia/atom http://lyman.q.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp A Japanese-language text of the full report will be available at the University of Tokyo web site in the summer of 2001. This report reflects information that was current through late March of 2001. Contents Executive Summary. vii 1. Introduction . 1 Interim Storage: A Crucial Issue for the Future of Nuclear Energy . 1 Interim Storage: The Quiet Consensus . 2 Interim Storage: Political, Legal, and Institutional Constraints . 3 Objectives and Organization of This Report . 5 2. Current Technologies, Economics, and Status of Interim Spent Fuel Storage . 7 Types of Spent Fuel Storage: Wet vs. Dry . 7 Types of Dry Storage of Spent Fuel . 9 Dry Storage Vaults . 9 Dry Storage Silos . 10 Dry Storage Casks . 10 Dry Storage Safety . 11 Dry Storage Flexibility . 13 Dry Storage Economics . 13 Nonproliferation and Safeguards Aspects of Dry Storage . 16 Transportation . 18 Transport Safety . 19 Transport Security . 21 Transport Cost . 21 Political and Institutional Constraints on Transport . 22 Current Storage Status: United States . 22 Current Storage Status: Japan . 23 Current Storage Status: Other Countries . 25 Appendix: Data on Spent Fuel Storage at Reactors in the United States . 29 3. Legal, Institutional, and Political Constraints on Interim Storage. 33 The Japanese Experience . 34 Introduction . 34 History of Spent Fuel Management in Japan . 35 The Original Nuclear Fuel Cycle Plan: Once There Was a Consensus . 35 Adjusting to New Realities: The Growing Need for Additional Storage Capacity . 35 Interim Storage as a Strategic Choice . 36 Major Constraints: Laws and Local Politics . 37 Laws and Regulations . 37 Local Politics(1): The Importance of “Nuclear Safety Agreements” . 37 Local Politics (2): Local Development, Financial Incentives, and Equity Issues . 39 Accidents and Mistrust of National Nuclear Energy Policy . 41 Recent Changes and Initiatives: Issues Remain . 42 Amendment to the Reactor Regulations: Toward a Centralized Interim Storage Site? . 42 High Level Radioactive Waste Law . 43 Consensus Building and Long-Term Nuclear Energy Policy . 43 Observations . 44 The U.S. Experience . 45 Introduction . 45 Policy Evolution, 1972–2000 . 47 Onsite Fuel Storage Controversies. 50 The Current Situation . 51 Observations . 53 4. International Approaches to Spent Fuel Storage . 57 Key Issues for International Storage or Disposal . 58 What service would be offered? . 58 Who bears the liability? . ..
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