NRC Technical Research Program to Evaluate Extended Storage and Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel - 12547
- United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Rockville, Maryland 20852 (United States)
- Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, San Antonio, TX 78238 (United States)
Any new direction proposed for the back-end of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) cycle will require storage of SNF beyond the current licensing periods. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has established a technical research program to determine if any changes in the 10 CFR part 71, and 72 requirements, and associated guidance might be necessary to regulate the safety of anticipated extended storage, and subsequent transport of SNF. This three part program of: 1) analysis of knowledge gaps in the potential degradation of materials, 2) short-term research and modeling, and 3) long-term demonstration of systems, will allow the NRC to make informed regulatory changes, and determine when and if additional monitoring and inspection of the systems is necessary. The NRC has started a research program to obtain data necessary to determine if the current regulatory guidance is sufficient if interim dry storage has to be extended beyond the currently approved licensing periods. The three-phased approach consists of: - the identification and prioritization of potential degradation of the components related to the safe operation of a dry cask storage system, - short-term research to determine if the initial analysis was correct, and - a long-term prototypic demonstration project to confirm the models and results obtained in the short-term research. The gap analysis has identified issues with the SCC of the stainless steel canisters, and SNF behavior. Issues impacting the SNF and canister internal performance such as high and low temperature distributions, and drying have also been identified. Research to evaluate these issues is underway. Evaluations have been conducted to determine the relative values that various types of long-term demonstration projects might provide. These projects or follow-on work is expected to continue over the next five years. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9-332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22293744
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-14-WM-12547; TRN: US14V1400115268
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2012: Waste Management 2012 conference on improving the future in waste management, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 26 Feb - 1 Mar 2012; Other Information: Country of input: France; 8 refs.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Aging Management Considerations for Dry Cask Storage Canisters - 18472
Evaluation of Nondestructive Examination Responses from Chloride-Induced Stress Corrosion Cracks: Fabrication of Base Metal Test Specimens