ROK - SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL MANAGEMENT CONSULTATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 117692

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2019
TAGS: ENRG KNNP MNUC PARM TRGY KS
SUBJECT: ROK - SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL MANAGEMENT CONSULTATIONS
WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE PRESIDENT'S NEW FRAMEWORK

Classified By: EAP A A/S JOSEPH DONOVAN, REASONS: 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (U) This is an action request - see paragraph 2.


2. (C) Embassy is requested to contact appropriate
interlocutors in MOFAT and MEST and convey the U.S. desire to
hold the November 23-24 reprocessing consultations in the
context of the U.S. proposal for an international framework
on nuclear fuel services, as outlined by Deputy Secretary of
Energy Poneman at the recent GNEP Executive Committee Meeting
in Beijing. The United States believes that international
cooperation in research and development must be seen as part
of a broader strategy on spent fuel management. Post is
requested to pass over the nonpaper in para 3, which further
articulates U.S. thinking in this area. Post should also
indicate that the United States intends to use its opening
statement at the technical consultations to underscore this
position and that it will provide a briefing on the broader
program of R&D on spent fuel management as part of the Monday
agenda.


3. (SBU) BEGIN TEXT OF NONPAPER:

New Framework for International Nuclear Fuel Services

The world needs new low-carbon baseload electric power to
support worldwide economic development in an environmentally
responsible manner. Nuclear power can play an important role
in global efforts to combat climate change. A new
international framework for civil nuclear cooperation could
include the following elements:

-- Cradle-to-grave fuel services;

-- Interim-retrievable storage of used fuel in regional
centers, with government assumption of the liability of the
irradiated fuel in those centers; and

-- New R&D investments that could lead to technology that
leapfrogs current thermal recycle schemes and provides safer,
cleaner, more cost-effective access to the energy value of
used fuel in a manner that supports nonproliferation goals.

Cradle-to-Grave (CTG) fuel services

A CTG approach could be considered as a new model for the
provision of fuel services. This approach would require
planning for the disposition of used fuel at the front-end of
the fuel-cycle rather than the back-end. Although it is
difficult for governments to mandate and manage this sort of
change, they can act in concert to develop economic
incentives to address the back-end of the fuel-cycle by
offering CTG services. The creation of a variety of
mechanisms could be considered whereby the supplier
governments could assume the physical, legal, and financial
liability for the used fuel, accepting its return and
securely storing it until an appropriate path to final
disposition is determined. For a CTG approach to work,
governments would need to take responsibility for
establishing workable solutions for used fuel management,
both for nations that already operate power reactors and for
nations aspiring to build nuclear reactors. The following
considerations may be useful for developing such solutions
for used fuel management:

-- Expansion of reprocessing and recycle using the
technologies available today has significant drawbacks.
Current commercially-deployed aqueous reprocessing has
significant costs, presents unique safeguards challenges, and
has resulted in large and growing stocks of separated
plutonium.

-- Adoption on a large scale of geological disposal of used
fuel results in the loss of a potential future energy source,
since used fuel typically contains approximately 90% of its
original energy value. If global nuclear electricity
production grows substantially over the next 50 to 100 years,
the price of uranium may increase to the point where the
reuse of the uranium and transuranics contained in the used
fuel is economically viable. Countries therefore may decide
not to dispose of used fuel in an irretrievable manner.

-- Retrievable storage in above-ground casks or underground
facilities licensed for 50 to 100 years is an attractive
option. This would be a safe and secure interim solution,
providing time for research and development on advanced fuel
cycle options that do not have the drawbacks of existing
technologies. The future of nuclear energy and its fuel
requirements will be clearer in the coming decades.

Storage for Today's Used-Fuel

Used fuel management and radioactive waste disposal have been
a challenge to the nuclear industry since its inception.
Improvements in fuel-cycle technologies may ultimately
provide a fuller range of options to achieve a permanent
solution to the waste problem. In addition to resolving the
used fuel management questions for themselves, nations with
mature nuclear programs could develop interim and permanent
solutions for managing used fuel in concert with countries
seeking nuclear energy. These solutions could include the
following:

-- Implementing a safe, secure, and economical system for
short-to-medium term storage of used fuel on the reactor site
(or elsewhere in the same country). Dry cask storage is safe
for today and well into the future.

-- Establishment of regional or international interim
long-term storage facilities or repositories. Finding an
appropriate location or locations meeting all technical and
political requirements would be a significant challenge.
While the location(s) would not have to be centralized,
developing multiple sites could increase the political and
public perception challenges as well as security risks.
Conversely, multiple sites could increase the perception of
fairness and improve the economics by lowering transportation
costs and risks and by fostering competition.

-- Assumption of responsibility for used fuel by the supplier
government. The take-back of used fuel by the supplying
country presents a potential solution to the used fuel
challenge. However, ultimately having the supplier assume
responsibility for transfer of used fuel back to a location
for safe disposition is not part of the current civil nuclear
framework. For those suppliers that cannot take back used
fuel, establishing commercial multinational business models
that allow for "bundled" services could be feasible if
governments band together to assume liability for supplied or
obligated used fuel.

-- Continuing R&D efforts on advanced fuel-cycle and waste
management technologies. These R&D efforts could help secure
the benefits of extracting energy value from the uranium
resource without the proliferation risk of existing
technologies and may simplify waste disposition. Mechanisms
for international collaboration could be expanded, with the
goal of developing a substantially improved fuel cycle over
the next 20-30 years.

END TEXT OF NONPAPER.


4. (U) Department thanks post for its assistance with this
matter.
CLINTON