3 ms·

How much does dealing with waste fuel cost? It's convenient to only count the input.

• UltraSane 1y ago
  Sigh. Storing nuclear waste is actually pretty cheap. After being removed from the reactor it is put into a pool for a while until it isn't so radioactive and then it is put into dry cask storage. Long term it can and should be stored in a deep geological repository like Finland is doing. A surcharge of 0.1 cent per KWh is applied to all nuclear power to pay for the decommissioning of reactors.
  • pfdietz 1y ago
    Storing LWR waste is pretty cheap, but I suspect dealing with TRISO spent fuel is not going to be nearly as cheap, if those reactors ever get built.
    • UltraSane 1y ago
      Why would it be more expensive to store?
      • pfdietz 1y ago
        Unless the burnup is quite high the volume will be larger. I don't think there will not be large fuel rod bundles to handle as units. The carbon binder of the fuel compacts is subject to abrasion and will be contaminated with carbon-14. Worse, it comes along with this moderator, so one has to be concerned with criticality even after the cooled waste has been transferred to dry storage.
  • dist-epoch 1y ago
    You mean how Finland is planning on doing. It's still not doing it. > In March, Finland successfully completed the first test of its encapsulation plant, which, if finished, will become the world's first permanent underground storage facility for radioactive waste. https://www.wired.com/story/finland-is-developing-a-permanent-way-to-deal-with-spent-nuclear-fuel/ https://www.wired.com/story/finland-is-developing-a-permanen... So far, after 70 years of nuclear power, not even 1 country is doing this.