Disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear weapons production and power generation has caused public outcry and political consternation. Nuclear Wastes presents a critical review of some waste management and disposal alternatives to the current national policy of direct disposal of light water reactor spent fuel. The book offers clearcut conclusions for what the nation should do today and what solutions should be explored for tomorrow. The committee examines the currently used "once-through" fuel cycle versus different alternatives of separations and transmutation technology systems, by which hazardous radionuclides are converted to nuclides that are either stable or radioactive with short half-lives. The volume provides detailed findings and conclusions about the status and feasibility of plutonium extraction and more advanced separations technologies, as well as three principal transmutation concepts for commercial reactor spent fuel. The book discusses nuclear proliferation; the U.S. nuclear regulatory structure; issues of health, safety and transportation; the proposed sale of electrical energy as a means of paying for the transmutation system; and other key issues.

Interest in nuclear energy continues to grow in many countries as a means to ensure security of energy supply and to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. In this context, recyclable materials constitute an asset for broadening the resource base for nuclear fuel supply, especially in medium- and long-term perspectives. This report provides an overview of recyclable fissile and fertile materials inventories which can be reused as nuclear fuel. It reviews the options available for managing those materials, through recycling and/or disposal. The potential energetic value of recyclable materials is assessed, taking into account the variability of retrievable energy contents of various materials according to technology and strategy choices made by the owners of the materials. The analyses contained in this report will be of particular interest to energy policy makers and to nuclear fuel cycle experts. Also available in this series: Innovation in Nuclear Energy Technology (2007) Forty Years of Uranium Resources, Production and Demand in Perspective: The Red Book Retrospective (2006) Nuclear Power Plant Life Management and Longer-term Operation (2006)

Provides a critical review of the thorium fuel cycle: potential benefits and challenges in the thorium fuel cycle, mainly based on the latest developments at the front end of the fuel cycle, applying thorium fuel cycle options, and at the back end of the thorium fuel cycle.

This book covers essential aspects of transmutation technologies, highlighting especially the advances in Japan. The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has caused us to focus attention on a large amount of spent nuclear fuels stored in NPPs. In addition, public anxiety regarding the treatment and disposal of high-level radioactive wastes that require long-term control is growing. The Japanese policy on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle is still unpredictable in the aftermath of the accident. Therefore, research and development for enhancing the safety of various processes involved in nuclear energy production are being actively pursued worldwide. In particular, nuclear transmutation technology has been drawing significant attention after the accident. This publication is timely with the following highlights: 1) Development of accelerator-driven systems (ADSs), which is a brand-new reactor concept for transmutation of highly radioactive wastes; 2) Nuclear reactor systems from the point of view of the nuclear fuel cycle. How to reduce nuclear wastes or how to treat them including the debris from TEPCO’s Fukushima nuclear power stations is discussed; and 3) Environmental radioactivity, radioactive waste treatment and geological disposal policy. State-of-the-art technologies for overall back-end issues of the nuclear fuel cycle as well as the technologies of transmutation are presented here. The chapter authors are actively involved in the development of ADSs and transmutation-related technologies. The future of the back-end issues in Japan is very uncertain after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP and this book provides an opportunity for readers to consider the future direction of those issues.

Storage and Hybridization of Nuclear Energy: Techno-economic Integration of Renewable and Nuclear Energy provides a unique analysis of the storage and hybridization of nuclear and renewable energy. Editor Bindra and his team of expert contributors present various global methodologies to obtain the techno-economic feasibility of the integration of storage or hybrid cycles in nuclear power plants. Aimed at those studying, researching and working in the nuclear engineering field, this book offers nuclear reactor technology vendors, nuclear utilities workers and regulatory commissioners a very unique resource on how to access reliable, flexible and clean energy from variable-generation. - Presents a unique view on the technologies and systems available to integrate renewables and nuclear energy - Provides insights into the different methodologies and technologies currently available for the storage of energy - Includes case studies from well-known experts working on specific integration concepts around the world