China’s current spent fuel management and future management scenarios

More than three-fourths of the world’s nuclear reactors went online before 1990, while all of China’s reactors went online after 1990. Although China’s nuclear industry is relatively young and nuclear waste and spent fuel are not yet a major concern, China’s strong commitment on nuclear energy and rapid pace on nuclear energy development call for analyses and strategies on China’s future spent fuel management. This paper will first discuss the status of China’s current spent fuel management methods and storage capability at China’s current 11commercial nuclear power plants. Second, this paper will estimate and calculate the accumulated spent fuel and required spent fuel storage up to 2040 based on three different nuclear development scenarios. Third, future spent fuel management scenarios from now to 2040 are designed and financial costs and proliferation risks are evaluated and discussed associated with each scenario. Last, policy recommendations will be provided for the future spent fuel.