Nuclear expert Dr. Jen Shafer explains why spent nuclear material should be viewed as an energy resource rather than disposable waste.
Assertion Supported
Shafer: TerraPower and Oklo sodium fast reactors will require waste conditioning
“Any of the sodium fast reactor designs, so your TerraPower, your Oklo, things of this nature, this would be A conversation where you need to have, at a minimum, a waste conditioning component to this, and if you're a company like Oklo, that's very much thinkin…”
Insight
Shafer: TRISO fuel resists leaching, whereas molten salts require waste conditioning
“Triso, again, is a wonderful waste form for all the reasons that people love it as a fuel form, right? The radioactive material is not getting out when it's reacting in the reactor, and it's not getting out when it's Sitting on the side of the building. Howeve…”
Opinion
Shafer: States will successfully block nuclear waste transit if they oppose it
“If a state does not want you to move nuclear material through the state, it will find a way for you to not move nuclear material through the state”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Shafer: Nevada will likely not agree to host a nuclear repository again
“I would be surprised if Nevada ends up stepping forward into this space again as far as, you know, there's conversations with respect to that being of consideration, etc.”
Assertion Supported
Shafer: Yucca Mountain would already be legally full if opened today
“Right now, if Yucca Mountain was opened we had a 70, a legal limit of Yucca Mountain of 70,000 metric tons of material, right? So, at 90,000 metric tons, Yucca Mountain would nominally be full, right?”
Assertion Supported
Shafer: Yucca Mountain had a statutory 10,000-year management obligation
“The legal limit on Yucca Mountain was a 10,000 year management, you know, obligation.”