Costs of Reprocessing versus Directly Disposing of Spent Nuclear Fuel
Abstract
This testimony presents the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO's) analysis of the costs of two alternatives for the use and disposal of nuclear fuel. For the past 50 years, the nuclear waste produced at reactors across the United States has largely been stored at the reactor sites. That practice, however, has been deemed untenable for the long run. CBO's analysis compares the cost of two fuel-cycle alternatives for the current generation of thermal reactors. One alternative is the "direct disposal" approach stipulated by current law, which involves using nuclear fuel once, cooling it on site at the reactor, and then disposing of the waste in a long-term repository. The second alternative is the "reprocessing approach," in which spent nuclear fuel is cooled on site and then reprocessed for one additional use in a reactor, and the wastes from reprocessing are stored in a long-term repository.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 14, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA474379
Entities
People
- Peter R. Orszag
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office