An acceptable long-term solution for used (spent) fuel from nuclear power reactors has evaded all countries engaged in the civilian nuclear fuel cycle. Furthermore, many countries are trying to develop interim storage solutions that address the shortage of storage in the spent fuel cooling pools at reactors. The United States has a particularly acute problem due to its adherence to an open fuel...

Dædalus Winter 2010 This two-volume special issue of Dædalus highlights the challenges associated with the global expansion of nuclear power. The topics covered include environmental impacts, nuclear safety, and the economics of nuclear power production, but the major emphasis is on nonproliferation and security aspects. To develop an understanding of possible problems and their potential solut...

The CYCLUS project at the University of Wisconsin Madison is the result of lessons learned from experience with previous nuclear fuel cycle simulation platforms. The modeling paradigm follows the transacation of discrete quanta of material among discrete facilities, arranged in a geographic and institutional framework, and trading in flexible markets. Key concepts in the design of CYCLUS includ...

This study compares the proliferation resistance of DUPIC (Direct Use of Spent PWR Fuel in CANDU) fuel cycle with other fuel cycle cases. The other fuel cycles considered in this study are PWR of once-through mode (PWR-OT), PWR of reprocessing mode (PWR-MOX), in which spent PWR fuel is reprocessed and recovered plutonium is used for making MOX (Mixed Oxide), CANDU with once-through mode (CANDU-...

A National Cancer Institute (NCI) survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, March 20, 1991, showed no general increased risk of death from cancer for people living in 107 U.S. counties containing or closely adjacent to 62 nuclear facilities. The facilities in the survey had all begun operation before 1982. Included were 52 commercial nuclear power plants, nine Departm...

The safe and effective management of radioactive waste has been given utmost importance from the very inception of nuclear industry in India and it covers the entire range of activities from handling, treatment, conditioning, transport, storage and finally disposal. Radioactive waste is generated at various stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, which includes the mining and milling of uranium ore, ...