Continued spent fuel storage and future transitions from one phase of the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle to the next requires that the operational experience and research results be reported and disseminated to the Member States for input to continued operations safety assessments and the licensing of new facilities. In this respect the SPAR CRP has supported this requirement through the reporting of on-going performance and research on the behaviour of power reactor spent fuel and materials in wet and dry storage. In looking forward a number of SPAR participants identified that they would be continuing their research activities to bridge knowledge gaps on existing fuel behaviour, R&D to underpin new facilities and dry storage systems and in support of fuel types being transitioned from a recycling strategy to direct disposal. A continuation of the project to report on these activities and to continue to collect and report fuel and system performance experiences, especially from the deployment of new technology, is proposed.
To develop (continue the input to the existing) a technical knowledge base on the long term behaviour of power reactor spent fuel and storage systems materials through the evaluation of operating experience and research by participating Member States.
Surveillance and monitoring programmes of spent fuel storage facilities as one of the means to evaluate spent fuel performance during storage.
To collect and exchange relevant experience of spent fuel storage and the impact on associated spent fuel management activities in the participating countries.
To develop the capability to assess the impact of potential deterioration mechanisms on fuel and spent fuel storage components.
To evaluate fuel and materials performance under wet and dry storage, and to assess the impact of interim storage on associated spent fuel management activities (for example spent fuel handling and transport).
To exploit areas of synergy among research projects of the participating Member States to gain agreed approaches to research and result analysis.
To extrapolate predictions of spent fuel behaviour over long periods of time.
To facilitate the transfer of knowledge by documenting the technical basis for spent fuel storage.
A wealth of data to support the ongoing safe storage of spent fuel in both wet and dry storage systems has been generated by work underway in Member States. As storage durations extend, in addition to the issues directly relevant to storage, research programmes relating to the transition between fuel cycle steps such as transportation and disposal are being developed and implemented.
For more than 20 years, the IAEA’s SPAR CRPs have reported the results of participating Member State research programmes in support of wet and dry storage and the ongoing performance of spent fuel in storage. Feedback from participants and through vehicles such as IAEA advisory groups (e.g. the Technical Working Group on Nuclear Fuel Cycle Options and Spent Fuel Management, TWG-NFCO) have voiced the benefits of these CRPs to the wider international community to inform their national programmes, through the timely reporting of topical issues/developments and being a source of technical information to support safety cases.
The CRP is highly relevant at a time when spent fuel storage durations are increasing. It enabled collaboration between institutes, as well as exchange of research information and for peer review of work completed.
The CRP was a useful vehicle for IAEA to gather information pertinent to spent fuel storage and subsequent transportation.