5 Fast Facts about Spent Nuclear Fuel | Department of Energy
Oct 3, 2022 · Spent fuel refers to the nuclear fuel that has been used in a reactor. The fuel used in today’s commercial reactors is made up of small ceramic pellets of low-enriched uranium oxide. The fuel pellets are stacked vertically and encased in a metallic cladding to form a fuel rod.
Nuclear Materials and Spent Nuclear Fuel - Department of Energy
In fulfilling its mission, EM manages and dispositions nuclear materials that are excess to national security and have no DOE programmatic use (“surplus nuclear material”) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) resulting from nuclear weapons productions and energy research.
Spent nuclear fuel - Wikipedia
Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant). It is no longer useful in sustaining a nuclear reaction in an ordinary thermal reactor and, depending on its point along the nuclear fuel cycle , it will have different isotopic ...
DOE-Managed Spent Nuclear Fuel | Department of Energy
EM’s mission includes safely and efficiently managing its spent nuclear fuel and preparing it for disposal in a geological repository, or otherwise safely removing it from the inventory. SNF has intrinsic value that is recognized by DOE and many others in the nuclear industry.
Global Overview of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel …
Jan 21, 2022 · “The successful management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel underpins the peaceful use of nuclear technology in all its facets, from low-carbon energy production to medicine and industry,” said Mikhail Chudakov, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy.
Commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is nuclear fuel that has been removed from a commercial nuclear power reactor following irradiation and that is no longer intended for use in producing power. The United States first began using nuclear power to produce electricity in 1957.
Spent Nuclear Fuel | Definition & Characteristics - nuclear …
Spent nuclear fuel, also called the used nuclear fuel, is a nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant or an experimental reactor), and a fresh fuel must replace that due to its insufficient reactivity.
What Is Spent Nuclear Fuel? | NRC.gov
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Science 101: What is Spent Nuclear Fuel? You know how a nuclear power plant uses nuclear fuel and chain reactions to produce electricity. So what happens to that fuel when it's removed from a reactor?
Spent fuel management, spent nuclear fuel strategies | IAEA
Jan 10, 2022 · Safe, secure, proliferation resistant and economically efficient nuclear fuel cycles that minimize waste generation and environmental impacts globally contribute to the sustainability of nuclear energy.
Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel | NRC.gov
May 16, 2023 · Spent nuclear fuel refers to uranium-bearing fuel elements that have been used at commercial nuclear reactors and that are no longer producing enough energy to sustain a nuclear reaction.