ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
Center for Used Fuel Research: Building confidence in storage and transport
Used nuclear fuel storage and transportation have reached a critical juncture.
Dozens of utilities need reliable data on how used nuclear fuel performs in dry storage casks and canisters to extend regulatory licenses at sites across the United States. Likewise, the Department of Energy expects to take ownership of the used nuclear fuel—termed “spent nuclear fuel” in the laws and regulations governing its stewardship—and transfer it to one or more federal staging facilities for management and disposition.
Meanwhile, dozens of reactor companies are testing prototypes of advanced reactors and advanced reactor fuels. Eventually, regulators and industry must also verify the safety and security of storage methods for these advanced fuel types.
To help address these challenges, the DOE established the Center for Used Fuel Research (CUFR) in January 2026 for work related to the long-term storage and transport of used nuclear fuel.
International High Level Radioactive Waste Management (IHLRWM 2025)
Plenary Session|Panel
Monday, November 10, 2025|1:00–2:45PM EST|Lincoln East
Session Organizers:
Steve Nesbit
John Starkey (Director of Public Policy, American Nuclear Society)
Click on a photo to view the speaker's bio (if available)
Moderator
recorded remarks
There have been fifteen years of near-total federal government inaction on the nuclear waste front since the Department of Energy (DOE) ceased work on the Yucca Mountain geologic repository in 2010. The U.S. Congress steadfastly refuses to fund the Yucca Mountain Project, but it has made no changes to the official U.S. policy for managing used nuclear fuel, defense high-level radioactive waste, and other materials addressed by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.
Nevertheless, there are recent signs that progress may be possible. DOE is developing the design for a consolidated storage facility (CSF) for used nuclear fuel, and it is working collaboratively with stakeholders to find a willing host community and state for one or more CSFs. Voices in Congress are advocating federal actions to address the government’s obligations related to nuclear waste, evinced by the formation of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus. Private companies have entered the fray with proposals for technological innovations such as borehole disposition, as an alternative to a mined geological repository, and advanced used fuel recycling technologies, to recover fissile material and other valuable radioisotopes. One of the May 23, 2025 Executive Orders charged the Secretary of Energy to develop “… a recommended national policy to support the management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste and the development and deployment of advanced fuel cycle capabilities to establish a safe secure, and sustainable long-term fuel cycle … .” DOE is working diligently to develop the report, which is due in January 2026.
Against that backdrop, the opening plenary panelists will discuss opportunities for progress in nuclear waste management. The lack of a used fuel management program has not derailed the burgeoning interest in new nuclear energy in the U.S., but it is a sizable cloud on that horizon. What should the upcoming DOE report say? How are political and financial challenges to be addressed? How likely is congressional action, and what form will it take? What can the technical community do to help break the logjam?
Opening Speaker: Sylvia J. Saltzstein (Sandia National Laboratories)
