D.Phil. / The existence of radioactive waste (or ‘radwaste’) has become a problem that afflicts the nuclear industry worldwide. The search for a social consensus on radwaste management strategies is proving to be one of the most complex challenges facing nuclear technological development. The categories of radwastes that are currently of greatest concern are spent nuclear fuel (SF) that is discharged from nuclear power reactors and high level waste (HLW) arising from reprocessing of SF, as they continue to accumulate in storage facilities around the world and perceived to be without an end solution to their existence. Like many other nuclear countries, South Africa too is facing major decisions about future management of SF that is generated from its nuclear power and research reactors. It remains undecided on which of the available spent fuel management (SFM) options it must adopt. This research study seeks to produce a framework for evaluating SFM options that will identify and characterise the elements or aspects to be analysed, and use it to evaluate the SFM options in order to identify a preferred or optimum option for South Africa. The methodological approach to this study involves the use of literature research, a case study on Eskom’s SFM approach and a questionnairebased survey complemented by in-depth interviews with key stakeholders of nuclear power in South Africa. These qualitative methods are used to verify and validate the SFM evaluation framework. To complement the qualitative approach, a cost analysis of the options based on input from Eskom and literature data as well as on assumed scenarios, is carried out. Both the qualitative and the cost analysis lead to identification of a preferred SFM option for South Africa. Three principal SFM options were identified and evaluated: the reprocessing and recycling (or closed fuel cycle) option, the direct disposal (or once-through fuel cycle) option, and the indefinite storage (or deferral-of-a-decision) option. There are at least nine categories of issues that have been identified as factors affecting these SFM options: technology, safety, environmental impact, proliferation resistance, physical security, economics, sociopolitical influence, ethical principles and institutional capability. These formed the evaluation framework and were used as the criteria for the assessment of the SFM options. Based on the analysis conducted in the study concerning the feasibility of the SFM options for the South African context in terms of these criteria, it is concluded that the direct disposal option is the most favourable option for implementation in the South African nuclear power programme. However, all three options have their technical merits but are also contentious in various degrees both within the nuclear industry and the public domain.

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Graduation date: 1997