Year
2010
Abstract
The anticipated world-wide expansion of nuclear energy is most evident in East Asia, where all four existing nuclear-power countries (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan) are currently expanding their nuclear- power programs with new nuclear-power-plant (NPP) construction. In addition, several Southeast Asian countries are seriously considering new nuclear power development as well (e.g., Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia). Several decision-analysis software tools have been developed for evaluating how potential changes in deployed nuclear capacity might affect nuclear fuel-cycle needs and radioactive waste accumulations. This paper describes two nuclear fuel-cycle analysis codes developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL): ENVI and FCSNE, respectively. These two assessment tools were developed as part of the Nuclear Energy Nonproliferation Workshops, held annually since 2005. A primary aim of these workshops has been to help reduce proliferation risk associated with expanded nuclear energy through technical cooperation, including the assessment of and planning for future nuclear-energy needs. The ENVI model helps to evaluate how South Korea might manage its anticipated accumulation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) by simulating various fuel-management options in South Korea. The ENVI model addresses alternative concepts for storage, transportation, and processing of SNF from two reactor types (CANDU and PWR), eventually leading to permanent disposal in geological repositories. The Fuel Cycle Services Needs Estimator (FCSNE) examines whether there will be enough regional and worldwide uranium-enrichment and nuclear-fuel services available to meet the needs of expanding nuclear energy programs in East Asia, based on various fuel-cycle capacity scenarios for single or multiple countries in East Asia. FCSNE summarizes, by country or by region, total nuclear capacity, enrichment demand, and spent fuel arisings.