Spent nuclear fuel in dry storage ahead of schedule, to be used again
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ARCO – The Idaho National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy and the state of Idaho is celebrating the completion of a major milestone.
Last week, the INL announced it had successfully transferred all spent nuclear fuel from Experimental Breeder Reactor II from wet to dry storage.
During a celebratory event at the Idaho Nuclear Technical and Engineering Center (INTEC) in Arco on Tuesday afternoon, INL Director John Wagner, William “Ike” White with the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, Idaho Gov. Brad Little and others congratulated the team of more than 600 people for completing it nine months ahead of schedule.
The project also led to the recovery of uranium products, which are now being processed “to turn what would’ve been waste materials into fuel for new advanced reactors on this site.”
“Repurposing what was considered waste, which was originally being processed to be disposed of, to meet an urgent need related to advanced reactor demonstration and deployment (is a big deal),” Wagner told those in attendance. “I don’t think the community … realizes how much has been accomplished.”
The bulk of the work was completed by the Idaho Environmental Coalition, which manages INTEC. This building reprocessed spent nuclear fuel from the 1950s through 1992. Since 1995, it’s been stored in six underwater storage basins that hold a combined three million gallons of water. This posed a concern to state officials because of its potential threat to the environment and people’s health.
Erik Simpson with the IEC says the Snake River Aquifer flows 220 feet below the ground surface at the north end of the INL site.
In response to these concerns, the state of Idaho filed a lawsuit against the federal government “to prevent Idaho from becoming a dumping ground for the nation’s commercial spent nuclear fuel.” In October 1995, the state, the U.S. Navy and the DOE reached a settlement that required several actions. One of those requirements was to transfer spent nuclear fuel from wet storage to dry storage.
The deadline for its completion was Dec. 31, 2023.
“Accomplishing something ahead of schedule is an amazing (achievement), given the complexity of INL’s spent nuclear fuel inventory and the amount of collaboration and coordination required,” Kathy Huff, an assistant secretary for the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, said at Tuesday’s event. “These kinds of accomplishments demonstrate the real dedication of our INL and Idaho Cleanup Project employees.”
Another requirement of the settlement was to prevent shipments of spent nuclear fuel to the INL for permanent storage.
The fuel will now be temporarily put in dry storage in another facility at INTEC. It will be shipped to a permanent repository once a location has been identified. It’s not clear when the permanent location will be determined.
“The next group of efforts … is tailored toward getting fuel road ready, which includes putting it into a road-ready canister that would be capable of going to a repository when one opens,” says William Kirby, senior director for liquid waste and fuels at IEC.
Connie Flohr, manager of the Idaho Cleanup Project, says they’re working with the Navy and the INL to come up with a way to modify existing buildings to properly package the fuel in preparation for its transfer to a permanent repository.
In 2002, Yucca Mountain in southern Nevada was designated as a national geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel. The Obama Administration defunded it in 2011, according to its website.
“We have challenges ahead, such as working with Congress to establish a permanent national geologic repository. But in the meantime, we should take note and be ready to have a serious conversation about interim storage,” Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador said during the event. “Idaho should lead this conversation and we need to think about how we can have a bigger role in that conversation.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the DOE has until 2035 to treat “all high-level waste” and ship it to its permanent location.
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Last year, the INL celebrated the exhumation of 5.69 acres of transuranic waste materials at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex near Arco. The waste included rubber gloves, personal protective equipment, test tubes and other items that had been contaminated through the processing of radioactive materials over the years. Removing various forms of transuranic waste from Idaho is another requirement of the Idaho Settlement Agreement.
Little told Tuesday’s crowd these achievements “would not have been possible” without the vision and foresight of former Gov. Phil Batt.
“He and others helped finalize the 1995 settlement agreement, which plotted a path for the removal of transuranic waste, high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel,” said Little. “I want to thank everyone associated with the spent nuclear fuel wet-to-dry project for keeping Governor Phil Batt’s legacy alive and the Idaho Settlement Agreement relevant to this day.”
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