Page 260 - Handbook of Energy Engineering Calculations

(CAAA). No such allowances are permitted for nuclear-fuel waste because
spent fuel is much more lethal than SO .
2
At a recent auction one low-sulfur-coal-burning utility bought 85,103

allowances for over $11 million. Each allowance permits a plant to emit 1 ton
of SO per calendar year. The utility justified its purchases of the allowances
2
at $135 per ton by comparing it to the cost of installing scrubbers to provide
similar reductions, namely $500 per ton. By buying the allowances now the
utility believes it can postpone large capital outlays until less costly controls
become available in the marketplace.
Under a variety of laws, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

seeks to establish a nationwide limit for various stack pollutants. The limits
are given in weight of pollutants emitted per year with a targeted reduced
annual rate for a future year. Limits established for pollutants vary by the size

of a plant in MW terms, and type of plant (larger utilities and cogenerators).
Since the regulations are under constant study, and frequent revision,
engineers should check with the EPA before finalizing any potential polluting
type plant design.
With no allowances available to nuclear plants, the designer must give

thought to the eventual disposal of spent fuel. Two approaches can be used in
the handling of spent nuclear fuel: (1) storage, (2) reprocessing.
In the first approach, storage, both the heat and radiation of the spent fuel

must be contended with during the long-term storage period required.
Underground storage of spent fuel is the most common way of handling the
waste. Today most spent fuel is buried intact, with no processing before
storage. Handling spent nuclear fuel is an ongoing problem for which no final
solutions appear available at this time.

In the second approach, reprocessing, a number of usable by-products—
plutonium, uranium, and radioisotopes—are obtained. These can be used in
agriculture, industry, and medicine to perform beneficial tasks. But even after

reprocessing there is a residue of high-level nuclear waste. This residue must
be stored in stainless-steel tanks or in solid form. Many different storage
options are being studied.
With increasing attention on environmental aspects of nuclear-power
generation, the designer has much to contend with. Between federal and state

regulators, the environmental demands are enormous. The environment must