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

Application of ALARA principles to shipment of spent nuclear fuel

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5114540· OSTI ID:5114540

The public exposure from spent fuel shipment is very low. In view of this low exposure and the perfect safety record for spent fuel shipment, existing systems can be considered satisfactory. On the other hand, occupational exposure reduction merits consideration and technology improvement to decrease dose should concentrate on this exposure. Practices that affect the age of spent fuel in shipment and the number of times the fuel must be shipped prior to disposal have the largest impact. A policy to encourage a 5-year spent fuel cooling period prior to shipment coupled with appropriate cask redesign to accommodate larger loads would be consistent with ALARA and economic principles. And finally, bypassing high population density areas will not in general reduce shipment dose.

Research Organization:
Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
5114540
Report Number(s):
PNL-3261; TTC-0073
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English