Idaho Nuclear Scientists Say Nuclear Rods can be Safely Studied

摘要

An eastern Idaho nuclear facility can safely handle two shipments of 25 spent fuel rods for research and it's not the start of turning the state into a nuclear waste dump, officials at the site say. The U.S. Department of Energy wants to better understand "high burnup" spent fuel that is accumulating at nuclear power plants in the U.S., said Todd Allen, deputy director of science and technology at the Idaho National Laboratory. High burnup fuel remains in nuclear reactor cores longer to produce more energy but comes out more radioactive and hotter. It's cooled in pools before being encased in steel and concrete.