REDUCINGTHERISKSOFSPENTPOWER REACTORFUEL

RobertAlvarez SeniorAnalyst FriendsoftheEarth and SeniorScholar InstituteforPolicyStudies Washington,D.C. April12,2012

Thenuclearcrisisat theDaiichicomplexin Fukushima,Japanhas turnedaspotlighton thedangersofspent nuclearfuelinpools.

Source:http://cryptome.org/eyeball/daiichinpp/daiichiphotos.htm

Radiationdoseratesinthevicinityofthepoolswere lifethreateningandrequiredremotelycontrolled watercannonsinanattempttorestorelostwater.

Irradiatednuclearfuel,alsocalled"spentfuel, isextraordinarilyradioactive. Inamatterof seconds,anunprotectedhumanonemeter awayfromasinglefreshlyremovedspentfuel assemblywouldreceivealethaldoseof radiationwithinseconds. AttheFukushimaDaiIchinuclearcomplex,the moltencoresofunits1,2and3,areofgreat longtermconcern. Buttheradioactiveinventoryofallthe irradiatednuclearfuelstoredinspentfuel poolsatFukushimaisfargreaterandeven moreproblematicthanthemoltencores in termsofpotentialoffsiteconsequences.

typicalboilingwaterreactorfuelassembly

WhySpentFuelPoolsPoseGreaterConsequences
(1) eachpoolcontainstheirradiatedfuelfrom severalyearsofoperation,makingforan extremelylargeradioactiveinventory; (2) thepoolsdonothaveastrongcontainment structurethatenclosethereactorcores; (3) severalpoolsarenowcompletelyopentothe atmospherebecausethereactorbuildingswere demolishedbyexplosions; (4) thepoolsareabout100feetabovegroundand couldpossiblytoppleorcollapsefromstructural damagecoupledwithanotherpowerful earthquake; (5) theblastofpenetratingradiationfromthe unshieldedspentfuelpoolwouldpreventhuman access; (6) thelossofwaterwillresultinoverheatingofthe fuelwhichcancausemeltingandigniteits zirconiummetalcladding resultinginafirethat coulddepositlargeamountsofradioactive materialsoverhundredsofmiles.

Destruction at Reactor No. 4 pool Area

Source:AssociatedPress

ReactorNo.3 SpentFuelPoolArea

Source: Air Photo Service Co. Ltd., Japan, March 24, 2011

TheCommonPoolattheDaiIchi Sitecontains6375assemblies (~60%ofSNFatthesite)andis at80%storagecapacity. Itisnotclearifthispoolwas damaged. Thispoolcontainsabout192 millioncuries(7.03E+18Bq)of longlivedradioactivity. Ofthat,about80millioncuriesis cesium137orabout50times theamountreleasedat Chernobyl.

Thespentfuelrodsinpool No.4containroughly37 millioncuries(~1.4E+18Bq) oflonglivedradioactivity. Ifanearthquakeorother eventweretocausethis pooltodrainthiscould resultinacatastrophic radiologicalfireinvolving about10timestheamount ofCs137releasedbythe Chernobylaccident.

Inordertopreventsevereradiation exposures,firesandpossibleexplosions, spentreactorfuel mustbetransferredat alltimesinwaterandheavily shieldedstructuresintodrycasks.

Removalofthespentfuelfromthe poolsatthedamagedFukushima DaiIchireactorswillrequiremajor constructionandtakeseveralyears.

Atotalof11,329spent reactorfuelassemblies areattheFukushima DaiIchisite. 2,524assemblies containingabout76 millioncuriesoflong livedradioactivity (2.182E+18Bq)arein thefourdamaged reactors,withnearly20 timestheamountofCs 137releasedat Chernobyl.

Allofthespentfuelassembliesatthesitecontainabout85timestheamount OfCs137releasedatChernobyl.

Ninedrycaskshold408 assembliesatthe FukushimaDaichi Site. Thecaskswereunscathed bytheearthquakeand Tsnunami. About3percentofthe spentfuelattheDaiIchi siteisindrystorage.

SpentFuelStorageCaskattheDaiIchiSite

Source:Shirai andSaegusa 2012

Layout of spent fuel pool and transfer system for boiling water reactors (BWR)
upper pool

Source:U.S.NuclearRegulatoryCommission,NUREG1275.

There are 31 Mark I and II BWRs in the U.S., similar to the reactors at Fukushima, with spent fuel pools ~100 feet above ground.

Layout for spent fuel pool and transfer system for pressurized water reactors

Source: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NUREG-1275.

Figure 5 U.S. Nuclear Power Reactors in Earthquake Zones

Sources:U.S.GeologicalSurvey,EnergyInformationAdministration

HighDensityPowerReactorSpentFuelPool
TheU.S.Nuclear Regulatory Commissionpermits U.S.Spentreactorfuel poolstohold,onthe average,fourtofive timestheamountin theFukushima reactors. LiketheFukushimareactors, U.S.spentfuelpoolsare locatedoutsideofthe containmentstructurethat holdsthereactorpressure vessel

SpentFuelAssembliesinPoolattheDaiIchiNuclearSiteinFukushima andindividualBoilingWaterReactorsintheUnitedStates

TotalRadioactivity(Dry/Wet)=~27billionCuries

Dec2010~49,600MTUinpoolstorage ~15,600MTUindrystorage

By2055:>485,000assemblies(perACINuclearEnergySolutions)

AdaptedfromKessler/EPRI June2010

Open and dense-pack PWR spent fuel racks

Source: NUREG/CR-0649

fixedneutronabsorbing panels

Isotope
Hydrogen-3 Carbon-14 Chlorine-36 Iron-55 Cobalt-60 Nickel-59 Nickel-63 Selenium-79 Krypton-85 Strontium-90 Zirconium-93 Niobium-93m Niobium-94 Technetium-99 Ruthenium-106 Palladium-107 Cadmium-133m Antimony-125 Tin-126 Iodine-129 Cesium-134 Cesium-135 Cesium-137 Promethium-147 Samarium-151

Radioactivity Half Life (yrs) (Ci)

12.3 5,700 300,000 2.7 5.3 76,000 100 64,000 10.7 29 1,500,000 16 24,000 210,000 1 6,500,000 14 2.8 1,000,000 17,000,000 2.1 2,300,000 30 2.6 90 10,200,000 95,000 750 420,000 27,000,000 160,000 22,000,000 30,000 150,000,000 3,000,000,000 160,000 110,000 56,000 950,000 4,700 8,800 1,500,000 3,600,000 59,000 2,400 5,800,000 36,000 4,500,000,000 18,000,000 25,000,000

Isotope
Europium-154 Europium-155 Actinium-227 Thorium-230 Protactinium-231 Uranium-232 Uranium-233 Uranium-234 Uranium-235 Uranium-236 Uranium-238 Plutonium-241 Plutonium-238 Americium-241 Curium-244 Plutonium-240 Plutonium-239 Americium-243 Americium-242/242m Curium-242 Curium-243 Plutonium-242 Neptunium-237 Curium-245 Curium-246

Half Live (yrs)

8.6 4.8 2.2 75,000 33,000 69 160,000 250,000 720,000,000 23,000,000 4,500,000,000 14 88 430 18 6,500 24,000 7,400 140 0.45 29 380,000 2,100,000 8,500 4,800

Radioactivity (Ci)
120,000,000 22,000,000 0.97 18 2.1 2600 3.9 84,000 1,000 18,000 20,000 3,200,000,000 240,000,000 220,000,000 120,000,000 36,000,000 24,000,000 1,900,000 1,600,000 1,300,000 1,300,000 140,000 30,000 29,000 6,300 ~12 billion Ci

Source:DOE/EIS0250AppendixA.

About4.5billioncuries,roughly40percentoftheU.S.spentfuel inventory,iscesium137.

Withahalflifeof30years,Cs137givesoffpotentiallydangerous externalpenetratingradiation. Cs137mimicspotassiumasitaccumulatesinthefoodchain. Thereisaboutfourtofivetimestheamountofcesium137thanin reactorcores. SpentfuelatU.S.nuclearreactorscontainsroughly20timesmore cesium137thanwasreleasedbymorethan650atmospheric nuclearweaponsteststhroughouttheworld.

50 MCi/km2
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MACCS2 code prediction for smoldering pool fire releasing 137Cs into a 10 mph steady wind
3.5 MCi 2500 km2 (3x Chernobyl) >100 Ci/km2 (>1% risk of radiation-caused cancer death) 45,000 km2 (60xChernobyl) Note different scales

200 km2 >1000 Ci/km2 (>10% risk of radiationcaused cancer death) 2500 km2 35 MCi

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Source:F.vonHippel,presentationtoNAS,February12,2004

NationalResearchCouncilFindingsRegardingVulnerabilitiesof ReactorSpentFuelPools
Alossofpoolcoolanteventresultingfromdamageorcollapseofthe poolcouldhavesevereconsequences Itisnotprudenttodismissnuclearplants,includingspentfuelstorage facilitiesasundesirabletargetsforterrorists undersomeconditions,aterroristattackthatpartiallyorcompletely drainedaspentfuelpoolcouldleadtoapropagatingzirconium claddingfireandreleaselargequantitiesofradioactivematerialstothe environment Suchfireswouldcreatethermalplumesthatcouldpotentiallytransport radioactiveaerosolshundredsofmilesdownwindunderappropriate atmosphericconditions.
NationalResearchCouncil,CommitteeontheSafetyandSecurityofCommercialSpentNuclearFuelStorage, BoardonRadioactiveWasteManagement,(2006)

Damage estimates for 3.5-35 MCi Cs-137 release

Site
Catawba Indian Point LaSalle Palo Verde Three-Mile Is. Average

Damages ($B)
76-547 145-461 54-80 11-80 171-568 91-347

Cancer Deaths
3100-7700 1500-5600 2100-6400 600-2000 2300-7000 1900-5700
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Source:F.vonHippel,presentationtoNAS,February12,2004

Why reduce storage density?

Reduces the risk of ignition. Would allow open-rack storage of hottest fuel or Removal of one fifth of fuel assemblies could expose at least one side of each to an open channel

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TwoTypesofDryStorageCasks

MagnitudeofTask
~50,000metrictonsofdensepackedfuelcurrentlyin pools. 10,000tonswithmorethanfiveyearscoolingcouldbe storedinabout10,000casks. 15,573metrictonsindrystorage. TwomajorU.S.manufacturershavesaidtheycould rampuptheircombinedproductionto500casks/yr.

RecommendationsoftheU.S.BlueRibbonCommissiononAmericas NuclearFuture
InJanuary2010TheObamaadministrationhascanceledlongcontestedplansto developapermanent,deepdisposalsiteatYuccaMountaininNevada. Initsplace,aBlueRibbonCommissiononAmerica'sNuclearFuture wastaskedwith comingtotermswiththecountry'sfivedecadeplusquesttostoreanddisposeofits highlevelradioactivewaste.InJanuary2012,thePanelrecommended,amongother things: *developmentofanewconsentbasedprocess..forselectingand evaluatingsitesandlicensingconsolidatedstorageanddisposalfacilitiesin thefuture: *establishmentofanewwastemanagementorganizationtoreplacethe roleoftheEnergyDepartmentwithanewindependent,government charteredcorporation; THEBOTTOMLINEISTHAT,OPTIMALLY,THESERECOMMENDATIONSWILLTAKE SEVERALDECADESBEFORECONSOLIDATEDSTORAGE ANDDISPOSALOFWASTES CANOCCUR.

TheriskofdenselypackedfuelpoolsintheU.S.canbe significantlyreducedbyplacingspentfuelolderthanfive yearsintodry,hardenedstoragecontainerssomething Germanydid25yearsago.

$1-2 million per cask =>$1-2 billion for 1000 casks

Cost of dry storage

0.04- 0.7 cents per kWh generated from the fuel (less than 1% of retail price of electricity in U.S.) Money could also be allocated from $18.1 billion in unexpended funds already collected from consumers of nucleargenerated electricity under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to establish a disposal site for high-level radioactive wastes.
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Conclusion
Aftermorethan50years,thequestforpermanentnuclearwaste disposalremainsillusory. Onething,however,isclear:thelargestconcentrationsof radioactivityontheplanetwillremaininstorageatU.S.reactorsites fortheindefinitefuture. InprotectingAmericafromnuclearcatastrophe,safelysecuringthe spentfuelbyeliminatinghighlyradioactive,crowdedpoolsshouldbe apublicsafetypriorityofthehighestdegree. Withapricetagofasmuchas$7billion,thecostoffixingAmericas nuclearvulnerabilitiesmaysoundhigh,especiallygiventheheated budgetdebateoccurringinWashington.Butthepriceofdoingtoo littleisincalculable.