Govt OKs recycling nuke fuel

2008-06-25 17:02

Cape Town - Government is in favour of recycling the hundreds of tons of highly-radioactive spent uranium fuel that has passed through the country's three nuclear reactors, members of Parliament's minerals and energy portfolio committee heard on Wednesday.

"In terms of our nuclear policy, we... favour that process (recycling of used fuel) because it's sustainable, and you can recycle some of the raw materials in the used fuel," minerals and energy department nuclear safety director Schalk de Waal said.

He acknowledged there were international concerns, mainly from the US, over nuclear reprocessing.

"One of the components that you recycle is plutonium, and although it's not really weapons-grade plutonium, they (the US) always argue that you can still make a bomb from that plutonium. Therefore - in terms of non-proliferation - they were against reprocessing.

Radioactive waste

Officials from the department were briefing the committee on the National Radioactive Waste Management Agency Bill, which seeks to establish such an authority to take responsibility for the safe storage of nuclear waste.

Radioactive waste in South Africa stems mainly from Koeberg's two nuclear reactors, though other sources include the SAFARI-1 reactor at Pelindaba near Pretoria, as well as waste from the production of radio-pharmaceuticals and radio-isotopes.

Low and intermediate-level waste from Koeberg is currently transported to the SA Nuclear Energy Corporation-managed storage facility at Vaalputs in the Northern Cape, but high-level waste, mainly spent fuel rods, is kept at the power station.

According to the department, there is a total of 1 150 tons of highly radioactive spent fuel at Pelindaba and Koeberg.

De Waal told the committee recycling was useful "because you can reprocess... and take out 95% of that used fuel and re-use it, and make new fuel for your reactor".

About 5% of the used fuel would then remain as high-level waste.

Vaalputs storage

Minerals and Energy chief director for nuclear energy, Tseliso Maqubela, speaking to Sapa after the briefing, said the department was looking at storing high-level nuclear waste - that was left over after the reprocessing operation - at Vaalputs.

Asked how this was possible, given that the facility was licensed to store low and intermediate-level waste only, he said "studies" would have to be done beforehand.

Earlier, he told the committee Vaalputs was a safe repository.

According to Maqubela, the new agency the bill seeks to establish will not be responsible for the 1 150 tons of spent fuel until after it has been reprocessed.

Until that time, the spent fuel currently at Koeberg would remain the responsibility of Eskom, he said.

- SAPA