Spent nuclear fuel refers to uranium-bearing fuel elements that have been used at commercial nuclear reactors and that are no longer producing enough energy to sustain a nuclear reaction.
Once the spent fuel is removed from the reactor the fission process has stopped, but the spent fuel assemblies still generate significant amounts of radiation and heat.
For years, nuclear power plants have temporarily stored spent nuclear fuel in water-filled pools at the reactor site.
The NRC has also authorized nuclear power plant licensees to store spent fuel at reactor sites in NRC-approved dry storage casks.
Until a permanent repository for spent fuel and other high-level nuclear waste is available, spent nuclear fuel continues to be stored primarily in specially designed, water-filled pools and NRC-approved dry casks at individual reactor sites around the country.
Periodically, about one-third of the nuclear fuel in an operating reactor needs to be unloaded and replaced with fresh fuel.
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