www.ans.org Position Statement #76 Interim Storage of Used or Spent Nuclear Fuel

The American Nuclear Society (ANS) supports the safe, controlled, licensed, and regulated interim storage of used nuclear fuel (UNF) (irradiated, spent fuel from a nuclear power reactor) until disposition can be determined and completed. ANS supports the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) determination that “spent fuel generated in any reactor can be stored safely and without signifi cant environmental impacts for at least 30 years beyond the licensed life for operation.”1 Current operational and decommissioned nuclear power plants in the United States were licensed with the expectation that the UNF would be stored at the nuclear power plant site until shipment to an interim storage facility, reprocessing plant, or permanent storage. Because of delays in Federal programs and policy issues, utilities have been forced to store UNF. Current means of interim storage of UNF at nuclear power plant sites include storage o