• US campaign puts case for disposal, not reprocessing, of used fuel The initiative - which is a collaboration of the Clean Air Task Force, the EFI Foundation and the Nuclear Threat Initiative - aims to “build a new nuclear energy ecosystem that can quickly and economically scale to 50+ gigawatts of safe and secure nuclear energy globally per year by the 2030s”. • The Nuclear Scaling Initiative (NSI) Executive Director Steve Comello said: “Making smart fuel management choices today, that acknowledge that reprocessing technologies today are not economically viable and pose security and waste management risks, can drive grid reliability, innovation, and economic and national security for the United States and beyond.” NSI, whose global advisory board is chaired by former US Secretary of State John Kerry, says that all forms of energy production produces waste, and says that in nuclear’s case, directly storing and “eventually disposing of intact spent fuel” underground “is a safe, straightforward process that uses existing expertise and infrastructure”. • Countries should learn from the reprocessing experience in the UK, Japan and France, NSI says, adding that its view is that reprocessing used fuel is “costly, complex and time-intensive, increasing energy prices for consumers and diverting resources from readily deployable technologies”. • Former Deputy Secretary of Defense and Under Secretary of Energy John Deutch said: “Reprocessing is not a reasonable option: it threatens security, is not cost-effective and will slow our ability to scale nuclear energy.” Reprocessing of used fuel from commercial reactors has been prohibited in the USA since 1977, with all used fuel being treated as high-level waste. • However, the nation has more than 250 plant-years of reprocessing operational experience, mostly from reprocessing oxide fuels at government-operated defence plants as part of its military programme. • A civil reprocessing plant at West Valley, New York, operated successfully fro

Article Summaries:

  • A coalition of the Clean Air Task Force, EFI Foundation and the Nuclear Threat Initiative has launched the Nuclear Scaling Initiative (NSI) to argue that used nuclear fuel should be stored and ultimately disposed of underground rather than reprocessed. NSI’s executive director, Steve Comello, says reprocessing is not economically viable, poses security risks and would raise energy costs. The group cites the U.S. prohibition on commercial reprocessing since 1977 and the limited success of past civil plants. Despite this, the Department of Energy has recently awarded over $19 million to five companies to develop recycling technologies, highlighting the ongoing debate over the best path for nuclear waste management.

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