Back end of the nuclear fuel cycle

Most of the nuclear spent fuel that is discharged from the reactors in OECD countries is destined currently for long term interim storage before final processing or direct disposal. There are at least three basic considerations affecting the dicision on spent fuel, that is, the capacity of prompt reprocessing is insufficient at present, reprocessing is not urgent for the reason of economy or plutonium availability, and the cooling of spent fuel in controlled storage is economically advantageous. The basic technology of reprocessing has been commercially available for several decades, but political problems and the lack of immediate incentive for reprocessing slowed the buildup of new capacity. To avoid the problems related to plutonium storage, it is reasonable to postpone reprocessing. Some OECD countries plan the direct disposal of spent fuel elements instead of reprocessing. The technology, supply and demand and cost of the storage and transport of spent fuel, reprocessing and waste disposal are discussed. The share of the back end in the total levelized fuel cycle cost is expected to be between 10 and 20 %. The impact of the choice of back end options on the cost of power generation will be only 2 %. (Kako, I.)