The Challenge of Development of a Holistic Waste Management Approach to Support the Nuclear Renaissance -9177

The recent growth of interest in atomic power, the “nuclear renaissance”, is undoubtedly driven by environmental concerns. Nevertheless, there are many opponents to such a move and, increasingly, their arguments focus on the backend of the nuclear cycle, with waste disposal claimed to be the “Achilles Heel” of nuclear power. It is clear that nuclear expansion - and introduction of advanced fuel cycles - will face intense scrutiny and a clear case must be made for its advantages, which will require an improved, integrated approach to waste management. Unlike the present, dispersed system that focuses only on disposal of individual waste streams, a holistic waste management approach needs to be developed for the entire backend. In this paper, the technical challenges associated with the development of such a holistic waste management approach will be discussed in the context of recent progress in relevant technical areas, especially introduction of optimized approaches for repository design and safety assessment.