US Nuclear Waste Fund $51.435 Billion… No Permanent Disposal Site

The U.S. nuclear waste fund held a balance of $51.435 billion at the end of fiscal 2025, yet the country still has no permanent repository for the more than 95,000 metric tons of spent fuel accumulated from commercial reactors. According to Department of Energy data from July 2025, spent fuel is stored at 79 sites across more than 30 states, while GAO figures show the stockpile growing by roughly 2,000 metric tons per year. The figures are not directly comparable because the agencies use different reference dates and counting methods. The lack of a permanent disposal site matters because the fund continues to accumulate while waste remains dispersed across dozens of interim storage locations. What to watch next is whether policymakers advance a permanent repository, which would determine how the fund is eventually deployed.