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Economics of Reprocessing of Spent Fuel

Researcher: M. V. Ramana

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) appears to be committed to constructing fast breeder reactors, which produce more fissile material than they consume, even as many other countries have suspended such programmes because of safety reasons and poor economics. These breeder reactors are to use plutonium as fuel and the DAE has adopted reprocessing as a way of dealing with spent nuclear fuel. The relative merits of reprocessing and direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel have been widely debated in Europe and the USA. An important aspect of the debate has been the economics of reprocessing. So far there have been no studies of the subject in the Indian context. This study assesses the economics of reprocessing and the cost of producing plutonium for the fast breeder reactor program. Our results suggest that the cost of reprocessing each kilogram of spent fuel would cost upwards of Rs. 20,000 even with assumptions that are favourable to reprocessing, and could be as high as Rs. 30,000/kg under other assumptions. These costs are lower than the corresponding figures for reprocessing plants in Europe, the USA, and Japan. As in their case, however, it is unlikely to be an economically viable method of waste disposal.

Outputs based on this study have been published in the following journals:

International Journal of Global Energy Issues

The Economic and Political Weekly

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