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The Department of Energy has selected electrometallurgical technology to treat spent nuclear fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) at its Argonne National Laboratory- West near Idaho Falls, Idaho. Treatment of the spent nuclear fuel will begin this month. The department will also further develop alternative technologies that might provide cost savings or other benefits for similar fuel from the Fermi-1 reactor.

The electrometallurgical technology will allow the department to remove sodium, which is highly reactive when exposed to water, and convert the spent fuel to waste forms that are suitable for disposal at a geologic repository. The department successfully completed a three-year research and development demonstration project of this technology in August 1999.

"We look forward to applying this electrometallurgical technology to treat the remaining EBR-II fuel stored at the Idaho site," said William D. Magwood, IV, director of the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology. "The EIS and the recent review performed by the National Research Council provides the basis for moving forward with this treatment technology and shows that the department can meet its obligations to the state of Idaho for removal of spent nuclear fuel from the site."

The department's decision to implement the preferred alternative of the final environmental impact statement (EIS) comes after 19 months of analysis and the consideration of nearly 500 public comments. The Record of Decision for the Treatment and Management of Sodium-Bonded Spent Nuclear Fuel was released earlier this week. In May 2000, an independent review completed by the National Research Council found no technical barriers to the use of this technology in treating the EBR-II fuel.

The potential environmental impacts of treating sodium-bonded fuel from the Fermi-1 reactor stored at DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory were analyzed in the EIS, however the department has not yet decided on a treatment method for this fuel. The department will continue to investigate alternative treatment techniques, while monitoring the results and costs of the electrometallurgical treatment of the EBR-II fuel. Data evaluated through the EIS process indicates the department may be able to take advantage of the differences in the Fermi-1 and EBR-II to save money by treating the two fuel types with different techniques. Should no alternative prove more cost effective for the Fermi-1 spent nuclear fuel, however, electrometallurgical treatment remains a viable option.

The record of decision and final EIS are available on this website. Copies of the record of decision, final EIS summary and the complete final EIS may be requested by calling (toll-free) at 1/877-450-6904. The final EIS is also available at public reading rooms. Names and locations of these reading rooms are available on the web site above.

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