Watching brief on advanced fuel cycles 2018 update

However, the NWMO recommended keeping a watching brief on the status of the technology internationally, and the potential for change in the fuel cycle in Canada. [...] In the United States, after the decision to stop the Yucca Mountain repository licence application, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (BRC) conducted in 2010 and 2011 an extensive review of available options and technologies for management of the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle in the United States. [...] This is because the footprint is governed by the total thermal output of the waste, not by its total volume, and the thermal output of the wastes are primarily driven by how much power has been produced regardless of the fuel cycle. [...] The NWMO will continue to monitor the situation and will evaluate the implications and options for any new reactors as part of the review of the APM approach. [...] » Based on the current cost of uranium, the life cycle cost of advanced fuel cycles is higher than once-through fuel cycle, due to the costs of developing and constructing the new generation reactors, reprocessing facilities and fuel fabrication plants.