On current US strategy and technologies for spent fuel handling
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center
- TRW Environmental Safety Systems, Vienna, VA (United States)
The US Department of Energy has recently completed a topical safety analysis report outlining the design and operation of a Centralized Interim Storage Facility for spent commercial nuclear fuel. During the course of the design, dose assessments indicated the need for remote operation of many of the cask handling operations. Use of robotic equipment was identified as a desirable handling solution that is capable of automating many of the operations to maintain throughput, and sufficiently flexible to handle five or more different storage cask designs in varying numbers on a given day. This paper discusses the facility and the dose assessment leading to this choice, and reviews factors to be considered when choosing robotics or automation. Further, a new computer simulation tool to quantify dose to humans working in radiological environments, the Radiological Environment Modeling System (REMS), is introduced. REMS has been developed to produce a more accurate estimate of dose to radiation workers in new activities with radiological hazards.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 541915
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-97-2297C; CONF-9709105-; ON: DE98000230; TRN: 98:008489
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: IAEA Advisory Group on remote technology in spent fuel management, Vienna (Austria), 22-25 Sep 1997; Other Information: PBD: [1997]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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