Mark Lombard
Director, Office of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation
![Spent fuel dry casks]()
Spent fuel dry casks
While
no one can say with certainty today where spent nuclear fuel will
ultimately go for long-term storage or disposal, one thing is clear: the
current methods of spent fuel storage are safe.
Managing
the “back end” of the nuclear fuel cycle – what happens to the fuel
after it is taken out of a reactor – may never be completely separated
from political and economic considerations. But the technical challenges
are fairly straightforward. Spent fuel is hot. And it is extremely
radioactive. It must be kept cool and it must be shielded to protect
workers, the public and the environment. It must also be properly
controlled to prevent it from achieving a sustained nuclear chain
reaction, also known as going critical.
The NRC has updated its
Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel fact sheet,
which explains the two major ways spent fuel is managed – in pools and
in dry cask storage. The fact sheet explains the regulatory
requirements, inspections and monitoring that ensure spent fuel is
managed safely. It also details improvements the NRC has made to address
concerns raised by the accident at Japan’s Fukushima plant and the 9/11
terrorist attacks.
An NRC backgrounder,
Dry Cask Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel,
provides more detail on how this management strategy evolved, the basic
requirements for dry storage, different licensing options and
opportunities for public input.
A great deal more information on spent nuclear fuel storage is also available on the
NRC’s website. We encourage you to read about our activities in this area and post your questions, comments and concerns below.
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