MACFARLANE: NUCLEAR FUEL DESIGN SHOULD CONSIDER SNF MGMT. ISSUES

When designing fuel, the management responsibilities at the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle should be kept in mind, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison Macfarlane said at the agency’s Fuel Cycle Exchange meeting yesterday. “With all this discussion about identifying areas of common ground and broadening cooperation across industries, I believe we must also acknowledge that actions taken at the front end of fuel cycle may have an impact at the back end of the fuel cycle,” Macfarlane said. “I think we could do more both within the NRC and in the industry to consider the benefits of further integrating our approach to the entire fuel cycle. Issues concerning the long-term behavior of spent fuel during eventual storage and disposal have historically received less consideration on the front end.”

 

Taking management and disposal of spent fuel into account is especially important, Macfarlane said, and she suggested that some collaboration within the industry would be helpful. “I believe it would be both unrealistic and unwise to expect fuel fabricators to take on the responsibility of addressing these potential challenges independently. Rather, there could be some benefit to front-end collaboration with those who will be responsible for the long-term safety of spent fuel,” she said. “I believe that more can be done to promote engagement among responsible parties across the fuel cycle, to better understand the issues that can arise, and to work together to identify solutions.”