International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Update on Spent Fuel Management Activities with Focus on Reprocessing - 8042

The IAEA continues to give a high priority to safe and effective implementation of spent fuel management. As the options for spent fuel management may in the long term diversify due to evolving requirements and new priorities in strategic criteria, it is worthwhile identifying viable technical options for spent fuel treatment and their applicability to spent fuel management. The IAEA has issued several publications in the past that provide technical information on the global status and trends in spent fuel reprocessing and associated topics. The latest update of this information, collected from the experts in this field, covers currently available spent fuel reprocessing technologies as well as emerging technologies that are being investigated. The information exchange on advanced nuclear fuel cycles is also achieved through the International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) initiated by IAEA. Substantial global growth of nuclear electricity generation is expected to occur during this century, in response to environmental issues and to assure the sustainability of the electrical energy supply in both industrial and less-developed countries. Recent initiatives by (IAEA, USA and Russia) are proposing the internationalization of the nuclear fuel cycle. These proposals imply a need for the development of innovative means for closure of the nuclear fuel cycle as advanced reactors (Generations III and IV) are deployed and as the quantities of material in the fuel cycle are set to increase to levels several times larger than at present. Spent fuel treatment/reprocessing options have evolved significantly since the start of nuclear energy application. There is a large body of industrial experience in fuel cycle technologies complemented by research and development programs in several countries. A number of options exist for the treatment of spent fuel. Some, including those that avoid separation of a pure plutonium stream, are at an advanced level of technological maturity. These could be deployed in the next generation of industrial-scale reprocessing plants, while others (such as dry methods) are at a pilot scale, laboratory scale or conceptual stage of development. Innovative reprocessing methods would have to be developed for the treatment of fuel types that may be utilized in the future; these fuels may differ substantially from the UO2 or MOX ceramics used in current light water reactors. Continued research and development on these methods must continue in view of the expected evolution in fuel and reactor types.