The U.S. Department of Energy and the State of Idaho have announced a targeted waiver of the 1995 Settlement Agreement, which originally established milestones for the removal of legacy waste at the Idaho National Laboratory site while permitting continued nuclear energy research and development.
Enhancing Safe Spent Fuel Storage
The INL said Tuesday the waiver paves the way for crucial research on a high burnup nuclear fuel cask originating from a commercial nuclear power plant. This effort aims to gather essential data to support the licensing needed to continue the prolonged storage of spent fuel at 54 nuclear power plants across 28 states.
The data, required by the nuclear industry and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, will be used to determine the nuclear fuel’s performance during long-term storage. It will help efforts to ensure safe storage in more than 70 percent of current dry storage facilities.
The waiver will also be instrumental in the INL’s efforts to sustain the existing nuclear reactor fleet, which generates almost 20 percent of electricity in the United States. This is an unforeseen national need that was not considered during the drafting of the 1995 Settlement Agreement.
Furthermore, the waiver will enable INL to manage small quantities of spent nuclear fuel from American university reactors. This is vital to maintaining the national research and talent pipeline, as some universities face the potential shutdown of their research reactors without the waiver.
Idaho Governor Brad Little commented on the collaborative effort, saying, “We are proud to support innovation in nuclear energy that will support national security and energy independence into the future.”
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, stated, “Idaho National Laboratory is DOE’s lead lab for nuclear energy research and development, and it is critical that we continue to grow this research capacity and maintain American competitiveness.”
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