Handling Spent Nuclear Fuel

tribution to the total production is 13%; in the future it should increase, especially considering the increase in the cost of oil and gas. Nuclear power is safer ecologically and more economical than fossil fuel power, and the development of nuclear power is a deposit for future energy independence and preservation of the defense preparedness of the country. The rates of development of nuclear power are at the present time largely determined by the safety and economy of the technology of the external components of the nuclear fuel cycle. The essence of these components consists in handling spent fuel. Specifically, the technologies are: – long-term storage; – recovery of unburned uranium and plutonium and their inclusion in the cycle, and the utilization of radionuclides; – preparation and inclusion of wastes from reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in a solid stable matrix; and, – storage and burial. In this connection the handling of spent fuel is a strategic direction of the industrial and scientific–technical development of the Ministry of Atomic Energy. This is confirmed by the great attention, which has been devoted in the last few years to this question – the regulatory–legal basis for handling spent fuel, preparation for dry storage, modernization of the RT-1 fuel reprocessing plant, and the preparation of an industrial concept for handling spent fuel have been examined at the meetings of the scientific and technical council and its sections, scientific councils, and boards. The analysis has not been restricted only to solving technical problems; it has been directed to the possibility and need for expanding the services of the Ministry of Atomic Energy in the world market for handling spent fuel. This market is only just forming. At the same time, many countries have already assessed its significance. Highly profitable radiochemical plants have been developed in Great Britain and France, and a technology for dry long-term storage is under development; suggestions have been made for international storage of fuel, which is supported by the USA, Great Britain, and certain countries in Southeast Asia. Thus, having taken the initiative and openly announcing an expansion of the service market, the Ministry of Atomic Energy has entered into a competitive battle. In this situation political and economic assistance from other competitor countries in this superprofitable business cannot be taken for granted. Atomic Energy, Vol. 89, No. 4, 2000