Spent Fuel Management

Spent Fuel Management 

Spent fuel is reprocessed to extract and recycle uranium and plutonium so as to maximize resource utilization, reduce the amount of high-level radioactive waste, and ensure effective spent fuel management and public safety. A special fund has been set up to promote safe storage, transportation and reprocessing of spent fuel discharged from nuclear power plants, and safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste. 

Existing away-from-reactor wet storage facilities have a combined storage capacity of 1,300 tons. Away-from-reactor wet storage facilities under construction will add another 1,200-ton storage capacity. Also being built are dry canisters at the reactor sites, able to store 550 tons of spent fuel. Specialized companies have been established for the transportation of spent fuel. An overall plan has been developed under the direction of the Ministry of Transport and the National Railway Administration to build a spent fuel transportation system. 

A pilot plant for spent fuel reprocessing was commissioned in 2010. Construction of a larger-scale demonstration project for spent fuel reprocessing started in 2017 based on the experience of building the pilot plant. At the same time, negotiation is underway on the construction of a large commercial plant with an 800-ton spent fuel reprocessing capacity to be built in cooperation with France. 

乏燃料管理

中國的乏燃料管理政策是實施乏燃料后處理，提取回收鈾、钚材料，以實現資源的最大化利用，減少高放廢物量，確保乏燃料管理安全和公眾安全。中國設立了核電廠乏燃料處理處置基金，用于乏燃料貯存、運輸、后處理和高放廢物處置。

目前，中國已建成 1300噸濕法離堆貯存能力，正在建設 1200噸濕法離堆貯存能力和 550噸干法屏蔽罐在堆貯存能力。中國建立了專業化的運輸公司，在國家交通運輸部、國家鐵路局等的統籌規劃下，正在著力構建乏燃料運輸體系。

中國乏燃料后處理中試廠于 2010年成功實現熱調試。 2017年，以中試廠為基礎，已啟動乏燃料后處理廠示范工程建設。與此同時，中法合作建設 800噸大型商用后處理廠的項目正在進行商務談判。