Assessing the environmental sustainability and justice dimensions of nuclear electricity under circular economy and energy transition frameworks

This study is framed within the international political context that shows on one side the risks of nuclear plants of being under attack in conflicts among countries (e.g., the present war between Russia and Ukraine) and on the other side the decarbonization policies of many countries including EU members, focused on equalizing nuclear and renewable sources for the generation of electricity. A systematic literature review is adopted, with the goal of understanding if nuclear electricity is environmentally sustainable as well as environmental and socially just in circular economy (CE) and energy transitions. According to some scenarios based on a higher role of nuclear electricity, results suggest the need to take into account the increase of ionizing radiations, Uranium depletion and water consumption. The impact of nuclear is also higher when compared with renewables (e.g. wind) in terms of total material requirement and, again, water consumption. LCA studies included in this review also highlight the impacts of the nuclear fuel cycle and in particular the Uranium stage as well as the decommissioning stage where the impacts of open cycles versus partially closed or totally closed cycles are compared. The analysis of the sample assessment of environmental and justice dimensions in the nuclear fuel cycle show that the selected articles focus on the whole life cycle of nuclear electricity and three main stages such as Uranium mining, decommissioning operations and identification of sites for spent nuclear fuel disposal. The integration of justice dimensions in the study resulted important in improving the understanding of the impacts of the nuclear fuel cycle on local communities in mining regions, or those who live near nuclear power plants or disposal facilities. The challenges of LCA in assessing the impacts of nuclear energy have been analysed suggesting the strong need for considering further impact categories and more comprehensive frameworks when evaluating its sustainability and role in decarbonization scenarios. In that, this study acknowledge that it is essential take into consideration the nexus between CE and energy transitions. Finally, the case study of the Italian Nuclear Programme is also discussed in the light of current critical narrative on nuclear energy.