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The EnergySolutions Perspective
Alan Dobson
July 2009
Our Approach
• Incremental approach to deployment of fuel
cycle facilities
• Use advanced processes on commercially
proven equipment for LWR recycling and
product re-use
• Incorporate advances in waste management,
environmental protection & proliferation
resistance
Our Approach
Uranium, plutonium,
(neptunium)
Fission Products
NUEX LWR SNF
Separation
Minor actinides
RU
Fission Products
Target fabrication
Advanced Recycling Reactor
(ARR)
CANDU Reactor
Why close the fuel cycle?
• Reduces amount and toxicity of HLW
• Makes better use of the disposal
it
repos ory
• Opens alternative repository options
• Lowers future HLW disposal costs
• Recovers & recycles valuable nuclear
material
A bigger question
• Will the nuclear renaissance end
before it begins?
– The nuclear waste disposal challenge
– The cost implications
– The proliferation concerns
– The urgency for action
• Moving forward
Key steps on the path to
recycling
• A suitable regulatory framework
• A new Government Authority responsible for
all aspects of used fuel management &
HLW disposal
• Industry participation in the development of
advanced fuel cycle technologies
Issues and perceptions
to be dealt with
• Recycling generates massive quantities of
nuclear wastes
• Recycling costs are high & recycling is
uneconomic
• Recycling increases proliferation concerns
• No need to rush into building recycling facilities
Wastes from Recycling
Wastes from recycling - the full picture
RECYCLING
+
+
0.8m3
3.9m3
71m3
Radioactivity content 100%
Radioactivity content 99%
Radioactivity content 0.9%
Radioactivity content 0.1%
10.9m3
Cost to dispose
$6 million
Yucca
Cost to dispose
$120k
WIPP like Repository
Cost to dispose
$0.5 million
WIPP like Repository
Cost to dispose
$0.1 million
Clive
The wastes produced from recycling the nuclear fuel that has provided
the annual electr