Is Spent Fuel or Waste from Reprocessed Spent Fuel Simpler to Dispose of

摘要

Currently, the Department of Energy plans to permanently dispose of spent fuel without reprocessing, but some experts believe that this will waste a valuable source of uranium and plutonium and pose special waste isolation problems. Until the Congress makes a decision on the future of nuclear power, DOE has no option but to plan for any eventuality--including the potential geological disposal of spent fuel. This report concludes that spent fuel; is more difficult to isolate from the biosphere than high-level waste reprocessed from spent fuel and discusses the status of DOE's efforts to provide a manmade barrier system which, when placed around the waste in a repository, will contain the radioactivity for at least the first 1,000 years.