Use of multi-purpose canisters for at-reactor spent fuel storage
- Nuclear Energy Inst., Washington, DC (United States)
Although a substantial amount of discharged spent nuclear fuel (SNF) can be stored in existing utility spent fuel pools at utility reactor sites, these pools are filling up. Once pool storage capacity at a given site has been reached, all future SNF discharges will require additional storage capacity outside the pool. Utilities can be expected to continue to make use of dry storage technologies to provide for needed out-of-pool storage. Until the US Department of Energy (DOE) accepts SNF into the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System (CRWMS), utilities will continue to store SNF in on-site independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFIs) or possibly at new private away-from-reactor facilities. The DOE has publicly stated that it intends to make Multi-Purpose Canisters (MPCs) available to utilities to use for at-reactor dry storage in advance of accepting spent fuel into the CRWMS. In its evaluation of alternative cask and canister system life cycle costs, DOE includes the cost savings to utilities using MPCs provided by DOE for at-reactor dry spent fuel storage. This would offset some of the cost of a commercial dry storage system. The MPC is a triple purpose, single shelled metallic canister with two lids that are welded to the shell to provide a dry, inert environment for SNF. Together with appropriate unique overpacks the MPC is to be used for temporary SNF storage at reactor sites, transportation by rail from reactors to an away-from-reactor ISFI or MRS, interim storage away from reactor sites, railroad transportation to the high level waste repository and ultimate disposal.
- OSTI ID:
- 220840
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950197--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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