The Department of Energy and the state of Idaho on Tuesday sealed an agreement on management of spent nuclear fuel generated by the Advanced Test Reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory.
The nearly 53-year-old reactor is used for government and commercial research and testing on nuclear fuels and materials, including on fuel that powers naval aircraft carriers and submarines.
The 1995 state-federal agreement on removal of radioactive waste from the Idaho National Laboratory prohibited wet storage of used nuclear fuel on the Energy Department property after 2023, according to a press release from Gov. Brad Little (R). There was disagreement on whether that deal applied to the indoor canal used for cooling of the reactor’s spent fuel.
A certain amount of spent fuel from the Advanced Test Reactor will need to be kept within the canal past 2023. This week’s agreement allows that to happen, with DOE making certain commitments.
Under the new deal, spent nuclear fuel produced by the reactor after Jan. 1, 2018, can be held in the canal for up to six years before be transferred to dry storage.
After Jan. 1, 3035, DOE will be allowed to “maintain a volume” of used fuel “associated with operation … of the ATR operating canal for a timeframe reasonably necessary for thermal cooling, but in any event not to exceed six (6) years,” the agreement says. Also following the 2035 date, used fuel would be required to be removed from the state no later than one year after being placed into dry storage. The original 1995 agreement, according to the state, had required that DOE remove all spent fuel from Idaho no later than 2035.
Starting this year, the Energy Department must submit annual reports to the state by May 1 regarding how much used fuel is stored in the cooling canal and the specific date at which an individual fuel element was found to be spent fuel. Technical assessments of the canal are also required.
The agreement was signed by Little, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, and DOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal.
