In pursuing a pathway to waste disposal through the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses, the Department of Energy will still likely need one to two deep geological repositories for spent nuclear fuel, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) said.
The NWTRB, established through the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1987, penned a July 24 letter to Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy Ted Garrish. It went over lessons the board learned from a June meeting it held with several other countries, including Finland and Switzerland, that are also pursuing a repository for used fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
The board said a significant lesson it learned from the June 9 meeting was that DOE needs to “ensure sufficient disposal capacity to accommodate the nation’s existing and projected waste inventory,” according to the letter. NWTRB acknowledged that DOE unveiled its Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus initiative in January to begin pursuing a potential pathway to disposal of waste.
DOE’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus is the Donald Trump administration’s effort to gauge states’ interest in hosting spent fuel storage and related facilities. Over half of the states have responded to DOE’s inquiry by its April deadline.
While NWTRB said its observation is consistent with DOE’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus approach, the board wants DOE to take an approach that encompasses the total inventory of existing and future spent nuclear fuel.
NWTRB told Garrish that in ensuring capacity, DOE needs to pursue one to two repositories, something it advised DOE and Congress to do in a March 2025 letter, to best address the waste in the United States.
The DOE initiative could pursue nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities as well. The board offered some pause towards potentially recycling spent fuel.
“The Board’s evaluation documented that almost all existing spent nuclear fuel has no plausible pathway for reuse and precludes disposal in deep boreholes without expensive and dose-intensive waste treatment and/or repackaging,” according to the letter.
NWTRB continued, “The Board therefore reiterates its March 2025 finding that one or more deep geologic repositories will be required to dispose of this inventory.”