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 ...
Explainer: What Are Spent Fuel Rods? - NPR
Mar 15, 2011 · During a nuclear reaction, fuel rods generate a tremendous amount of heat. After most of the fuel has been used, the rods are removed from the reactor and kept in a separate cooling pool...
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.
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.
Two different management strategies are used for spent nuclear fuel. In one the fuel is reprocessed to extract usable material (uranium and plutonium) for new fuel. In the other, spent fuel is simply considered a waste and is stored pending disposal.
Backgrounder On Storage Of Spent Nuclear Fuel | NRC.gov
Oct 30, 2024 · Spent nuclear fuel refers to the bundles of uranium pellets encased in metal rods that have been used to power a nuclear reactor. Over time, nuclear fuel becomes less able to keep a nuclear reaction going.
Safer Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel - Union of Concerned Scientists
Mar 24, 2011 · When fuel rods in a nuclear reactor are “spent,” or no longer usable, they are removed from the reactor core and replaced with fresh fuel rods. The spent fuel rods are still highly radioactive and continue to generate significant heat for decades.
Spent Nuclear Fuel - Department of Energy
Jun 14, 2017 · "Spent nuclear fuel” is the fuel removed from nuclear reactor cores when it becomes too depleted. The pelletized fuel is contained in cylindrical containers referred to as fuel rods. The U.S. Department of Energy describes spent fuel “as a resource until such time as it is declared a waste and is dispositioned to an operating repository.”
Safely Managing Used Nuclear Fuel - Nuclear Energy Institute
Feb 1, 2018 · Used nuclear fuel rods are stored safely and securely at reactor and storage sites around the country, either in enclosed, steel-lined concrete pools filled with water or in steel-reinforced concrete containers.
Backgrounder on Radioactive Waste | NRC.gov
Jan 26, 2024 · All U.S. nuclear power plants store spent nuclear fuel in "spent fuel pools." These pools are made of reinforced concrete several feet thick, with steel liners. The water is typically about 40 feet deep and serves both to shield the radiation and cool the rods.