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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Use of FUELSTOR vault for interim spent fuel storage in Czech Republic

Conference ·
OSTI ID:100841
 [1];  [2]
  1. Siemens AG, Offenbach am Main (Germany). Power Generation Group
  2. DIAMO s.p., Prague (Czech Republic). Nuclear Fuel Inst.
A cooperation agreement has been signed with Siemens Power Generation Group (KWU) and the KWU Group`s dry vault store has been modified for underground construction. Geological studies have identified two suitable sites for the store, both situated in granite rock formations in the vicinity of uranium mines but both unaffected by mining activities. All phases of the project--from design and site characterization, through actual construction to operation of the facility--will be executed in strict compliance with Czech laws and regulations. In view of their general validity, IAEA recommendations as well as US and German codes and standards will also be applied. Any spent fuel storage facility must first pass the rigors of the Czech licensing procedure. Therefore, the design of the store will provide adequate safeguards and security for the fuel while in interim storage, as well as protection against all conceivable natural and man-made hazards. The storage facility is a self-contained building equipped with a cask receiving and handling area, a fuel encapsulation facility, a fuel storage vault and auxiliary support facilities and offices. Spent fuel assemblies are transported to the storage facility in dry casks, are individually sealed under an inert gas atmosphere inside steel canisters, and are stored horizontally in specially-designed racks inside a concrete vault. Subcriticality is assured by the storage array pitch, shielding is provided by concrete walls and the surrounding geological formation, and cooling is by natural convection, resulting in low fuel rod temperatures.
OSTI ID:
100841
Report Number(s):
CONF-930906--; ISBN 0-7918-0691-X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English