Results of a recent Stanford University-led study ran counter to the nuclear industry’s claims that advanced reactors won’t significantly add to radioactive waste stockpiles around the world, the university said in a press release published Monday.
According to Stanford’s statement, the study — due to eb published Monday in the academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — found that small modular reactors (SMRs) “are inferior to conventional reactors with respect to radioactive waste generation, management requirements, and disposal options.”
The research team studied reactor designs from advanced nuclear companies such as NuScale, Toshiba and Terrestrial Energy, the release said. The study found that increased neutron leakage from SMRs as compared to conventional reactors would contribute to larger waste volumes.
Plutonium in spent fuel from SMRs would be around 50% more radioactive per unit than similar waste from conventional reactors, Stanford said.
While Monday’s statement didn’t provide specifics about the reactor case studies, lead author Lindsay Krall said that the study’s results stand “in sharp contrast to the cost and waste reduction benefits that advocates have claimed for advanced nuclear technologies.”
As of Tuesday, the full study was not publicly available from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The journal’s next issue was scheduled for publication Tuesday.
Meanwhile, SMRs are still in development. NuScale in particular is currently waiting on final approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to start building its advanced reactor design. The company in 2021 signed an agreement with Grant County, Wash., to work on SMRs, and NuScale is also working with a public utility commission in Utah to develop a similar facility by 2029.
