How spent fuel is stored physically

The nuclear power sector is gaining a lot of momentum. But even as SMRs continue to flourish, the Department of Energy’s reactor pilot program moves forward, and decommissioned plants come back online, the question of what to do with nuclear waste has largely stayed out of the spotlight. The U.S. currently houses 90,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel; as more plants come online, that number could rise dramatically. 

In this episode, Shayle speaks to Dr. Jen Shafer, a former ARPA-E director and current professor at the Colorado School of Mines, to learn more about waste itself, and how to dispose of — or recycle it — as the industry evolves.

The two cover topics like:

• The physical and chemical composition of spent nuclear fuel
• Short-term versus long-term hazards of waste
• The stalled disposal site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada
• Wet versus dry storage methods for nuclear waste
• The strategies for managing the waste from advanced reactors
• The “take back” model for managing microreactor waste

Resources

• Catalyst: The path to market for new nuclear reactors
• Catalyst: The US nuclear groundswell
• Open Circuit: Inside Meta’s massive nuclear push
• Open Circuit: Fear and loathing at the Department of Energy
• Latitude Media: What TerraPower’s big milestone says about future nuclear projects
• Latitude Media: Commonwealth Fusion Systems launches digital twin with Nvidia and Siemens
• Latitude Media: Trump Media’s bizarre fusion play for TAE Technologies

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

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