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Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel
Where does Disposal take place?
Deep Geological Disposal
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The Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Disposal

Appropriate disposal of spent nuclear fuel is a vital, protecting people and the environment long term.

Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel

How can nuclear waste be disposed of?

The final step in the management of nuclear waste, disposal is to safely place radioactive material into a facility from which it is never designed to be recovered.

Disposal methods vary with waste classification – essentially the level of radioactivity, and how quickly this decays.

Very Low-Level Waste

Very Low-Level Waste (VLLW), such as smoke detectors, can be disposed of in domestic refuse.

Low-Level Waste

Low-Level Waste (LLW) includes paper towels, and personal protective equipment (such as gloves, overalls).

Intermediate-Level Waste

Intermediate-Level Waste (ILW) is more radioactive than LLW, but is not heat-producing. Examples include reactor components.

High-Level Waste

High-Level Waste (HLW) is heat producing and therefore requires active cooling. Examples include spent fuel and highly active waste liquids from reprocessing.

Where does waste disposal take place?

Where does waste disposal take place?

Where is disposal of LLW carried out?

Low-Level Waste (LLW) accounts for about 90% of all nuclear waste generated.

Once enclosed in suitable packaging, LLW is straightforward to dispose of. Therefore, around the world, LLW can be and is disposed of via near-surface disposal methods – at ground level, or in caves just below ground.

What happens in the UK?

What happens in the UK?

In England and Wales, LLW may be sent to the Low-Level Waste Repository (LLWR) in Drigg, Cumbria. The repository is a shallow lined trench a few metres underground that is encapsulated in cement with the waste inside in shipping containers; when full it will be covered and backfilled. In Scotland, all LLW is held on sites.

Where is disposal of ILW and HLW carried out?

The remainder of radioactive waste is either Intermediate-Level Waste (ILW) or High-Level Waste (HLW). In either case, interim storage is required, to allow radioactivity to decay somewhat, before the waste is suitable for disposal.

  • Intermediate-Level Waste (ILW) is typically transferred to a dry store for interim storage until its radioactivity has decayed enough that the waste can be recategorised as Low Level Waste (LLW).
  • High-Level Waste (HLW), continuing to generate heat, is initially stored within a cooling pond - usually on the reactor or reprocessing site. Once sufficiently cool, this is then transferred to a dry store, pending final disposal.
Deep Geological Disposal

Deep Geological Disposal

Deep Geological Disposal

Given the long timescales over which HLW remains radioactive, the preferred method of disposal is deep underground, within stable geological formations – known as a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). A GDF must have:

Multiple Barriers

Multiple Barriers

Waste should be isolated by engineered and natural means. This multiple barrier concept includes the engineered waste packaging, the engineered repository, the absence of oxygen in groundwater and the geology of the chosen location.

No Maintenance

No Maintenance

There should be no obligation on future generations to maintain the facility. It should be passively safe.

Protection

Protection

The waste should be protected from natural hazards such as seismicity and climate change, and human hazards such as terrorism and war.

What happens in the UK?

What happens in the UK?

In England and Wales, Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), a public body within the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), is consulting on the creation of a GDF for long-term storage of HLW; this would be a multi-barrier facility that would be refilled with earth and rock, with no future access possible. In Scotland, the current policy is for near-surface disposal close to the originating site, for at least 300 years.

What happens elsewhere?

What happens around the world?

Most countries have a policy to either investigate or pursue deep geological disposal. Preferred sites have been selected in France, Sweden and the USA. In Finland, a repository at Onkalo is expected to commence operations during the mid 2020s - the first example of deep geological disposal across the world.
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