36
curve farther into the future, but it is also possible that not all currently operating reactors will in fact have their lives extended to 60 years. In that case, the number of shutdown plants would increase more rapidly. And while additional reactors have been proposed at some sites (which could delay full decommissioning of these sites for decades), it is impossible to know how many of these new units will eventually be built or how they would affect cumulative fuel storage costs. Using the cost estimates cited previously, the added security and monitoring expenses associated with keeping stranded spent fuel at as many as 70 different shutdown reactor sites could be in the area of $350 to $550 million per year at today’s costs. In sum, equity and cost considerations together argue for moving as quickly as possible to transfer stranded spent fuel from shutdown reactor sites to consolidated storage. Given the significant direct benefits of transferring spent
fuel from these sites, both for the surrounding communities and in terms of cost savings, the Commission recommends that spent fuel currently being stored at shutdown reactor sites be “first in line” for transfer to a consolidated storage facility.
5.2.2 Consolidated Storage Would Enable the Federal Government to Begin Meeting Waste Acceptance Obligations Developing consolidated storage capacity would enable the U.S. government to begin fulfilling its legal obligations (described in chapter 3 of this report) with respect to the acceptance and removal of SNF from commercial reactor sites. In this way, it would also begin to address a large and growing source of financial and legal liability to the federal government and ultimately U.S. taxpayers. The Commission has heard the suggestion that DOE
Table 1. Quantities of Stranded Spent Fuel in Storage at Shutdown Commercial U.S. Reactor Sites 70 MTHM MTHM MTHM Total Casks Stored in Pool in Dry Number Estimated (Actual Plus at Site Storage Storage of Casks Casks Estimated)
Average MTHM/ Cask
Plant
State
Big Rock Point
Michigan
58
0
58
7
—
7
8.3
Haddam Neck
Connecticut
412
0
412
40
—
40
10.3
Humboldt Bay
California
29
0
29
5
—
5
5.8
LaCrossea
Wisconsin
38
38
0
0
5
5
7.6
Maine Yankee
Maine
542
0
542
60
—
60
9.0
Rancho Seco
California
228
0
228
21
—
21
10.9
Trojan
Oregon
359
0
359
34
—
34
10.6
Yankee Rowe
Massachusetts
127
0
127
15
—
15
8.5
Zion 1 & 2b
Illinois
1,019
1,019
0
—
61
61
16.7
15
0
15
NA*
—
NA
—
Fort St. Vrain Colorado
NOTE: a Testimony to Commission indicates target completion in 2012. Decommissioning contract entered with Energy Solutions. NAC MAGNASTOR canister will be used with capacity of 36 elements per cask. Target schedule for completion is 2013.
b
* Fort St. Vrain spent fuel is in vault storage. Note: Some shutdown plant sites also have GTCC waste stored in dry casks. B l u e R i bb o n C o m m i s s i o n o n A m e r i ca’ s N u c l e ar F u t u r e
