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| spent fuel management |
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| Compared with the huge atmospheric emissions from fossil-fuel
energy, nuclear wastes exist in small, highly manageable amounts that
can be stored without harm to people or the environment. |
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| One kilogram of uranium in the PBMR fuel has a greater energy output
than 430 tons of the best coal with an ash content (waste) of up to 40
percent. A large coal-fired power station uses about 2 200 trainloads of
coal per year (six a day), while only 2 truckloads of fuel per week will
be required for 24 PBMR nuclear power stations of equivalent capacity.
For the PBMR demonstration unit at Koeberg, 10 truckloads would have been needed
for the initial load, and only 4 truckloads per year for the replacement
of spent fuel. |
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| The DPP200 PBMR module will generate about 23 tons of spent fuel pebbles per annum, less than 1 ton of which is uranium. The storage of PBMR
spent fuel should be easier than for fuel elements or rods from
conventional nuclear reactors, as no safety graded cooling systems are
needed to prevent fuel failure. |
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| The PBMR system has been designed to deal with nuclear waste
efficiently and safely. There will be enough room for the spent fuel to
be stored in dry storage tanks at the PBMR plant for the power station’s
expected 40-year operational life, during which time no spent fuel will
have to be removed from the site. After the plant has been shut down,
the spent fuel can be safely stored on site for another 40 years before
being sent to a final repository. |
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