Storage buildings for the temporary storage of spent fuelSee 'nuclear fuel'. elements for the periodreactor period between removal from the nuclear power plantThermal power plant, primarily used for electricity generati... and reprocessingApplication of chemical processes to separate the valuable s... or direct ultimate waste disposal. The elements are stored in specially designed cast-iron containers, in particular in so-called Castor® containers which meet all safety functions such as radiationEnergy dispersion through matter or space. In atomic physics... shield, retention of radioactive substancesRadioactive substances within the meaning of the Atomic Ener..., mechanical integrity even in the event of earthquakes and aircraft crashes. These containers are stored in conventional warehouses. The containers are cooled during interim storage by the natural convection of air.
Interim storage is planned for periods of several decades. In a country such as the United States, which does not currently reprocess its spent fuelSee 'nuclear fuel'., waste has remained in storage in reactorSystem used to initiate, maintain and control a fission chai... pools or dry silos for more than 30 years in some cases.
Sweden, which does not reprocess its fuelSee 'nuclear fuel'., has built the CLAB storage facility in Oskarshamn, featuring large interim storage pools 30 m underground. This facility will be used until a repository is built.
In France, intermediate-level waste must also be stored, only 36% of which has been conditioned, with the remainder awaiting recovery and processing. Some legacy waste must also be dealt with, for example waste from the earliest power stations using the graphite gas process, which is stored in Marcoule. The ongoing process of dismantling retired power plants also produces low-level long-lived waste, which is being held in interim storage pending definition of a final management strategy.