The next generation of nuclear power reactors could reshape the way in which nuclear waste is stored, Lloyd’s Register said in a report this week.
“Many of the latest reactor designs can achieve ‘deep burn’ of nuclear fuel – leading to a smaller and much shorter-lived waste stream,” the report says. “The potential of these next-generation reactors has led some industry experts to advocate the adoption of drycask surface storage of nuclear waste. What is currently unusable and designated as waste may one day be usable as fuel – much better then, they argue, to store it in a location that is easier to access than traditional geological disposal solutions.”
That would be a drastic change from today’s storage needs, in which governments look to deep underground facilities to protect their citizens from waste that will remain highly radioactive for thousands of years, Lloyd’s noted.
The report on low-carbon technologies is the latest energy-focused “Technology Radar” from Lloyd’s Register, a worldwide provider of engineering, technical, and business services. It included input from nearly 600 experts and industry professionals, including 154 in the nuclear sphere.
