When the majority of U.S. nuclear plants were constructed, the industry planned to recycle used nuclear fuel.  In 1979, President Carter banned commercial spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, thus halting the original intent to recycle fuel for maximum efficiency and minimal by-product.  President Reagan lifted the reprocessing ban in 1981; however, while recycling is being done in other countries, it has not yet been fully developed in the United States because the industry stopped expanding after Three Mile Island, due to negative media coverage even though there was no effect on the health of workers or the people of Pennsylvania.

AEHI believes that recycling spent fuel is the appropriate direction for the U.S. industry to take with regards to nuclear waste management, and the company plans to advocate spent fuel reprocessing as commercial nuclear construction expands including using in as fuel in our plants.
With commercial nuclear construction on the horizon in the United States, the question of spent fuel disposal has become a cause of concern throughout the media due to a minority of outspoken opponents who discount the industry’s excellent safety record. AEHI is a green energy generating company, equally focused on developing clean power sources and relieving the national energy shortfall. It has always been a top priority of the company to maintain the highest standards in safety and accountability during every project undertaken.

AEHI has compiled the following information and resources in order to educate on the topic of commercial spent fuel disposal, particularly with regards to the company’s nuclear construction project(s)

On-Site Storage

Most commercial nuclear power plants store spent fuel rods in a spent fuel pool, on site. Depending on size, the pool can safely hold approximately 20-25 years of spent fuel depending on pool design.

When the spent fuel pool does become full, used fuel from commercial nuclear plants is stored on-site in dry casks. The fuel emits low level radiation, will naturally decay, and requires no additional cooling. The typically steel-lined cylinder casks provide leak-tight containment of the spent fuel and are surrounded by further material, frequently concrete, to provide additional radiation shielding to workers. Spent fuel can be safely stored indefinitely at an existing nuclear site even after decommissioning until reprocessing is begun or a permanent central storage facility is established like Yucca Mountain. The spent fuel is so valuable the Chinese are proposing to accept it from all other countries for reprocessing and storage to ultimately fuel their large nuclear fleet.

AEHI intends to use on site spent fuel pool, and dry cask if necessary, storage for all used nuclear fuel from nuclear facilities it owns, operates, or constructs.

Yucca Mountain Repository

Yucca Mountain has been studied by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) since 1978 as a potential site for the construction of a national repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The fuel will be both stored and actively monitored at this site, which is located in a remote desert on federally protected land within the secure boundaries of the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada. The Obama administration has delayed the completion of the facility at this time.

Spent Fuel Management

The nuclear energy industry is the only energy industry that has successfully managed and accounted for all of its by-products. Nuclear power plants have had no significantly harmful impacts on the environment since the start of the commercial nuclear industry, through the reduction, elimination, and safe storage of the minimal volumes of by-products created. Furthermore, as technology and efficiencies improve, the average volume of waste generated by power plants continues to decrease on a yearly basis.

The Facts About Nuclear Energy

NEI's easy-to-understand booklet describes the basics of nuclear energy, from how it's created, to its environmental and economic benefits, to the safe and secure management of nuclear plants and used fuel. You can purchase, download, or experience the booklet on NEI's Web site.