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Managing Spent Nuclear Fuel Strategy Alternatives and Policy Implications Environment, Energy, and Economic Development A RAND INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM THE ARTS This PDF document was made available from www.rand.org as CHILD POLICY a public service of the RAND Corporation. CIVIL JUSTICE EDUCATION Jump down to document ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT 6 HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that NATIONAL SECURITY POPULATION AND AGING helps improve policy and decisionmaking through PUBLIC SAFETY research and analysis. 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This product is part of the RAND Corporation monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND monographs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. Managing Spent Nuclear Fuel Strategy Alternatives and Policy Implications Tom LaTourrette, Thomas Light, Debra Knopman, James T. Bartis Environment, Energy, and Economic Development A RAND INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM This monograph results from the RAND Corporation’s Investment in People and Ideas program. Support for this program is provided, in part, by the generosity of RAND’s donors and by the fees earned on client-funded research. This research was conducted within the Environment, Energy, and Economic Development Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN 978-0-8330-5108-0 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. Cover image courtesy of the Nuclear Energy Institute © Copyright 2010 RAND Corporation Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND documents are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND permissions page (http://www.rand.org/ publications/permissions.html). Published 2010 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] Preface About This Document Increasing the fraction of nuclear power in the mix of electric power-generation tech- nologies is one approach to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. A major roadblock to investment in new nuclear power plants in the United States is uncertainty about the fate of spent nuclear fuel. If nuclear power is to be a sustainable option for the United States, methods for managing spent nuclear fuel that meet stringent safety and environmental standards must be implemented. This monograph evaluates technical approaches, institutional factors, and strategy options for managing spent nuclear fuel and draws policy implications associated with different societal priorities and values. On January 29, 2010, the U.S. Secretary of Energy established the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future to provide recommendations for managing spent nuclear fuel and other nuclear wastes. We intend this monograph to be of interest to commission members and staff, as well as other stakeholders in the spent–nuclear fuel policymaking process. This monograph results from the RAND Corporation’s Investment in People and Ideas program. Support for this program is provided, in part, by the generosity of RAND’s donors and by the fees earned on client-funded research. The RAND Environment, Energy, and Economic Development Program This research was conducted within the Environment, Energy, and Economic Devel- opment Program (EEED) within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment (ISE). The mission of ISE is to improve the development, operation, use, and protection of society’s essential physical assets and natural resources and to enhance the related social assets of safety and security of individuals in transit and in their workplaces and communities. The EEED research portfolio addresses environmental quality and regu- lation, energy resources and systems, water resources and systems, climate, natural haz- ards and disasters, and economic development—both domestically and internation- ally. EEED research is conducted for government, foundations, and the private sector. iii iv Managing Spent Nuclear Fuel: Strategy Alternatives and Policy Implications Questions or comments about this monograph should be sent to the project leader, Tom LaTourrette ([email protected]). Information about EEED is available online (http://www.rand.org/ise/environ). Inquiries about EEED projects should be sent to the following address: Keith Crane, Director Environment, Energy, and Economic Development Program, ISE RAND Corporation 1200 South Hayes Street Arlington, VA 22202-5050 703-413-1100, x5520 [email protected] Contents Preface ................................................................................................. iii Figures .................................................................................................vii Tables .................................................................................................. ix Summary .............................................................................................. xi Acknowledgments .................................................................................. xxi Abbreviations ...................................................................................... xxiii CHAPTER ONE Where We Are Now, How We Got Here, and the Decisions We Face ....................... 1 The Current Situation ................................................................................. 1 Historical Background ................................................................................ 3 Confronting the Problem Anew ...................................................................... 5 Objectives and Approach of This Monograph ...................................................... 6 CHAPTER TWO Technical Approaches to Spent–Nuclear Fuel Management.................................. 9 On-Site Storage ......................................................................................... 9 Spent-Fuel Pools ...................................................................................... 9 Dry-Cask Storage ...................................................................................10 Evaluation of Extended Reliance on On-Site Storage ..........................................11 Centralized Interim Storage .........................................................................14 Evaluation of Centralized Interim Storage .......................................................14 Advanced Fuel Cycles .................................................................................16 Uranium Resources .................................................................................18 Proliferation Risk ...................................................................................18 Waste Management .................................................................................19 Evaluation of Advanced Fuel Cycles ............................................................. 23 Permanent Geological Disposal .................................................................... 27 Evaluation of Permanent Geological Disposal ................................................. 28 Comparison of Technical Approaches ............................................................. 30 Safety .................................................................................................31 v vi Managing Spent Nuclear Fuel: Strategy Alternatives and Policy Implications Security ...............................................................................................31 Technical Obstacles .................................................................................32 Public Acceptance ...................................................................................32 Cost ...................................................................................................33
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