Response by the Authors to the NRC Review of “Reducing the Hazards from Stored Spent Power-Reactor Fuel in the United States”

Our study addressed the hazards associated with the dense-packed storage of spent fuel in pools next to U.S. nuclear-power reactors. Our concern was the possibility of a spent-fuel fire resulting in case of a sudden loss of coolant or cooling. We considered ways in which this hazard might be mitigated—especially by reducing the packing density.1 The summary in the conclusion of the NRC’s critique of our article states that