What Happens to a Decommissioned Nuclear Power Plant

A quote from the article (which quotes ABC7):

There are more than 2,200 nuclear fuel assemblies sitting inside of the radioactive waste pool at the moment. They range in age from 14 years old to 40. Each of the assemblies will be moved into a three-inch thick stainless steel tube while still underwater. Each of the tubes will then be vacuum dried and welded shut, according to ABC 7 News, and then placed inside of larger concrete containers. During this process "there's no chance of a meltdown," Val Christensen, the CEO of EnergySolutions, told ABC 7. "The water temperature is below 100 degrees. These units have been cooling for 13 years." Once completed, there will be sixty-one steel and concrete dry casks, each weighing about 125 tons, stored on the pad, which will measure between 10 and 15 acres.

Just to whine a little, can't somebody do something to arrange to sell the fuel rods to France to have them used in their reactors?

I'm not sure if these fuel rods would be suitable or not (well, I'm sure not in there present form--I'm sure the fuel would have to removed from these rods, possibly processed somehow, and then incorporated in fuel rods compatible for one or more of the French reactors), but really, $1 Billion? 10-15 acres?

(Why am I looking for somebody else to do something--well at the very least I'd need help, including to rescind a presidential directive, iiuc.)

Hi,

I don´t think the spent fuel elements stored in the pool can be directly used in any other NPP.

Even it will fit in the reactors, the burn-up degree does not allow to use them in light (or heavy) water reactors.

What French do is to "reprocess" that fuel to extract the fission products and take the fissile materials (U-235, Pu-239...) from which new fuel elements can be produced. The volume of the rad waste is reduced (but as usual, if you concentrate it, the in-contact dose rate increases)

Kind regards

Re: What French do is to "reprocess" that fuel to extract the fission products and take the fissile materials (U-235, Pu-239...) from which new fuel elements can be produced. The volume of the rad waste is reduced (but as usual, if you concentrate it, the in-contact dose rate increases)

That is pretty much my understanding. It would only be a very amazing coincidence if the fuel or the fuel rods could be used without reprocessing of some sort.

It sure would be nice to get it to happen, somehow.