Since 1981 the IAEA has been organizing coordinated research projects on the behaviour of power reactor spent fuel during long term (or extended) storage. The current publication provides an update on national spent fuel management strategies, ongoing spent fuel and system performance in wet and dry storage, and latest national research and development activities relating to spent fuel storage. It contains useful information on hydride re-orientation and the impact of fuel, storage system components, emerging issues on very long term storage, and the storage of metal fuel in a closed system. The experience and insights provided by the participating countries will help Member States to identify challenges in implementing long term storage and to understand the current status of spent fuel performance research related to long term storage.
