Civil plutonium management

Worldwide, spent fuel discharged from nuclear reactors each year contains around 70 tonnes of plutonium, equivalent to almost 150 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent), which is more than the annual oil production of Kuwait. Between 1960 and 1970, research into plutonium recycling in fast-neutron reactors was stimulated by the fear that uranium reserves were dwindling or even running out. In the early 1980s, interest in this technology was revived, but only plutonium monorecycling in light-water reactors was implemented. In the early 1990s, two events changed this context: firstly, public opposition to the burial of high-level, long-lived nuclear waste, which led to the French law of December 1991 defining three areas of research for waste management; and secondly, the consequences of the disarmament agreements between Russia and the United States.

The developments discussed in this article will attempt to provide the technical elements associated with the various strategic options and solutions for plutonium management.