Quantification of U.S. spent fuel inventories in nuclear waste management

•This research created a collection of inventory estimates to analyze spent fuel.•Data was collected from public sources on 103 operating U.S. reactors.•Inventories were estimated for spent fuel removed 0, 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 years ago.•Reductions in radiotoxicity and heat load were quantified for the older spent fuel.•Toxicity and heat were smaller for BWR assemblies due to lower enrichment levels.

The goal of this research was to develop a methodology to collect inventory estimates for the analysis of spent fuel in the United States. Data sets were collected from publicly available information on 103 operating U.S. reactors over the lifespan of each unit. SCALE 6.1’s ORIGEN-ARP module was used to produce plant models for each reactor and inventory estimates for spent fuel removed 0, 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 years ago. The analysis includes assessments of radiotoxicity and heat load levels. Reductions in radiotoxicity and heat load were quantified for the oldest spent fuel, and it was noted that the values were smaller for BWR assemblies due to lower enrichment levels. The obtained results serve as a guiding tool in evaluating spent fuel management strategies, including spent fuel pool conditions, dry cask loading sequences of interim storage options, and expectations for permanent disposal needs.