A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, based on research from Stanford University and the University of British Columbia, addressed the problem of nuclear waste from small modular reactors (SMRs). The study said that many designs for SMRs would increase the amount of nuclear waste in need of disposal, in contrast to what many in the industry have said about the technology—that SMRs would produce fewer radioactive byproducts than conventional large-scale reactors.
Opinions about the study’s findings may differ, but energy experts agree that solving the problem of nuclear waste will be important to the growth of SMR deployment. The issue of what to do with spent fuel has dogged the nuclear power industry for decades.
