Bulgaria has taken a significant step towards enhancing its nuclear safety measures with the recent signing of a grant agreement between the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Bulgarian government. This partnership aims to conduct a feasibility study for the safe underground disposal of spent nuclear fuel, utilizing advanced technology from the U.S.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has signed a grant agreement with the Bulgarian government and its state-owned energy holding to support nuclear energy and safety projects in the Balkan country.

The USTDA has deepened its collaboration with Bulgaria to advance the country’s infrastructure, energy, and cybersecurity capabilities.

Most people have probably heard the term “nuclear waste,” but not many know exactly what it is and why it’s a big federal energy policy concern. It may also surprise some to hear that we have a big nuclear waste problem in the United States—a problem that has nothing to do with knowing how to…

By Kristin Houser

The US is investing billions of dollars into nuclear. Will it pay off?

By Chuck McCutcheon

A company that’s developed a novel new nuclear waste disposal technology hopes Congress’ overwhelming support for the ADVANCE Act will lend its efforts some political momentum.

Why it matters: As nuclear energy gains in political and public acceptance, many observers say the issue of how to dispose of waste over the longer term deserves far more attention.

Driving the news: Deep Isolation Inc. CEO Rod Baltzer spent this week in D.C. meeting with Energy Department officials and others to explain its nuclear waste disposal system.

• “Seeing the ADVANCE Act pass the Senate 88-2 … that’s phenomenal,” said Baltzer, who formerly headed Texas’ Waste Control Specialists.

How it works: Deep Isolation wants to use directional drilling technology, popular in the oil and gas industry, to dig long, narrow holes thousands of feet underground into which canisters of waste can be emplaced.

• The concept has both supporters and skeptics.
• Communities could use the technology to bury materials where they’re generated, such as near advanced reactors, Baltzer said.
• “They can know going into it, ‘OK, I’m going to get this power. I’m going to get these property taxes, these jobs, these other benefits. I’m also going to dispose of the waste here,” he said. “And so you’ve got the full life cycle, but you can just dispose of your waste, not the nation’s waste.”

What’s next: In the U.S., Baltzer sees deep isolation as a complement to — not a replacement for — a geologic repository as dictated by the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act. But first, laws and regulations need to “catch up.”

• “I think there’s some progress toward that. We’re definitely having conversations where we can and as we can as a small business.”

US Navarro Research & Engineering, and Deep Isolation have entered into a strategic partnership to advance the safe disposal of high-level nuclear waste in deep geologic boreholes. 

Deep Isolation has performed two field tests to show that retrieval of nuclear waste packages from a deep borehole is possible using off-the-shelf oil and gas exploration tools. Together, this data and field test results present compelling evidence that retrievability from boreholes can be assured if retrievability is desired for a given period of time.

Deep Isolation and its partners have built a first prototype of a nuclear waste disposal canister. It’s an important step toward a working system to safely dispose of spent fuel in boreholes deep beneath the Earth’s surface.

Deep Isolation and partners including the Nuclear AMRC have completed the manufacture of a full-size prototype canister for the safe geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in deep boreholes.