EARLY ENCAPSULATION OF SPENT FUEL-ELEMENT S - SEPARATION OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF OPERATION AND DISPOSAL

The design requirements to be met by fuel elements in the light of the trend towards higher burnups are aggravated by the need to take into account the logistics of decommissioning. The criteria applying to ope ration should be separated from those applying to disposal this can be achieved by early encapsulation of spent fuel elements. This creates the flexibility now for decisions to be taken decades from now. A few relatively simple process steps hermetically seal spent fuel elements in the storage pools of nuclear power plants. Only the capsules are ha ndled until the decision about the spent fuel management pathway is ta ken. Should direct disposal be chosen, only capsules will be handled r ight to the repository. This process of early encapsulation not only p rovides more flexibility, but also offers major economic advantages.