Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section

Management of Spent Fuel from Power Reactors


Objective:

Improve the capability of interested Member States to plan, develop and implement safe, environmentally sound and efficient spent fuel management by the identification and mitigation of problems, using information and guidance provided by the Agency.

Rationale:

The importance of the Agency's involvement in the management of spent fuel from power reactors has been noted on several occasions in meetings of the Board of Governors and is reflected in the Medium Term Strategy 2006–2011. As concluded at the 2006 conference on the management of spent fuel from nuclear power reactors, the evolving international scene has made spent fuel management one of the more important factors influencing the future of nuclear energy. Fostering the application of good practices and sharing of experience is a particularly relevant task for the Agency in discharging responsibility and functions according to its Statute (Article III, A/3) and to achieve Goal A in the Medium Term Strategy 2006–2011. In addition, signatory countries of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management can benefit from the Agency˙s efforts to foster the application of good practices in the spent fuel management area.

Technical Meeting On Potential Interface Issues In Spent Fuel Management ,
3–6 November 2009, Vienna.

Information Sheet

Participation Form

Form for submission of a paper

Questionnaire

Interface Tables



International Conference on Management of Spent Fuel From Power Reactors,
19-22 June 2006, Vienna.

Click here for proceedings of the 2006 conference.

Click here for 2006 conference contributed papers.

Click here for July feature story on 2006 Spent Fuel Conference entitled "Managing Spent Nuclear Fuel Rises on Global Agenda".

The International Atomic Energy Agency, in cooperation with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, held an International Conference on "Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors" from 19 to 22 June 2006 in Vienna. The conference was attended by 150 participants and observers from 36 countries and 4 international organizations. The opening session entitled “Spent Fuel Management "Evolving International Scene" showcased emerging initiatives that have significant potential to shape and influence future spent fuel management approaches in Member States. Following IAEA and NEA presentations on international perspectives, the Chair of the 2005 Expert Group Report to the IAEA Director General highlighted multi-national approaches relevant to spent fuel management. The U.S. Department of Energy then described progress in establishing the US Global Nuclear Energy Initiative while the Director General of IPPE followed with a presentation on the Russian President's Initiative focused on aspects relevant to spent fuel management. Subsequent presentations included one by the head of nuclear energy for the French Industry Ministry describing French choices for the backend of the fuel cycle and another by the Chair of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd addressing evolving policies in expanding economies. India represented one of a number of IAEA Member States anticipating significant growth in civilian nuclear power capacity. Safety-related sessions on 20 June included addresses by the head of the French regulatory authority and others as well as panel discussions. Technology-related sessions on 21 June featured presentations moving from facilities to containers to the properties and behaviour of the spent fuel itself, also followed by panel discussions. The conference concluded on 22 June with a look to the future in spent fuel management, including a keynote presentation and summaries by the session chairs and the Conference President. As reflected in these summaries, conference participants agreed that the most important conclusions and findings for the future include the following:

Programme Committee for the 2006 Spent Fuel Conference

A programme committee meeting was held 28Feb-2Mar06 to refine the programme structure and sessions and review synopses of technical presentations, aligning these with these sessions. The committee, with representatives from Argentina, France, Japan, Russia, and the USA in addition to the IAEA and NEA, also reviewed more than fifty synopses of papers and provided comments as appropriate for the Secretariat for the IAEA Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Safety Departments to discuss with the authors. The meeting resulted in raising the profile of this conference, inviting important programme participants, and enhancing potential participation at the conference.

For the list of IAEA publications from 1990-Present on spent fuel management please click.

Results from the International Conference on Storage of Spent Fuel From Power Reactors,
2-6 June 2003, Vienna.

In order to read an IAEA Overview of Global Spent Fuel Storage please click.


Also see Proceedings of the 2003 Conference.

Projects:

Historical Information:

IAEA activities dedicated to spent fuel management can be traced back to the International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation (INFCE) performed in the late 1970s (STI/PUB/534, 1980). Working Group 6 issued a separate report on spent fuel management (i.e., distinct from the Working Group 4 report on reprocessing). The Working Group 6 report identified interim storage of spent fuel as an important step in the nuclear fuel cycle. An earlier IAEA study on Regional Fuel Cycle Centre (STI/PUB/445, 1977) had already pointed out the importance of spent fuel.

A series of international meetings on spent fuel management were organized during the early 1980s, from which several publications were issued on spent fuel storage. These early activities were followed by the establishment of the Regular Advisory Group on Spent Fuel Management (RAGM-SFM) with a mandate for an advisory role on the IAEA programme on a bi-annual basis. Since its first meeting held in 1984, the RAGM continued until it merged with the International Working Group on Nuclear Fuel Cycle Options (IWG-NFCO) to form the new Technical Working Group on Nuclear Fuel Cycle Options (TWGNFCO) in 2002.

The IAEA activities on spent fuel management have evolved to reflect the changing needs and interests of Member States. A glimpse of such changes in the past two decades can be gleaned from papers published in the IAEA Bulletin, as well as other publications, including those noted below.

IAEA Bulletin Articles Providing Historical Background: