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Title: Compact approach to monitored retrievable storage of spent fuel

Abstract

Recent federal waste-management legislation has raised national interest in monitored retrievable storage (MRS) of unprocessed spent fuel from civilian nuclear power plants. We have reviewed the current MRS design approaches, and we have examined an alternative concept that is extremely compact in terms of total land use. This approach may offer substantial advantages in the areas of monitoring and in safeguards against theft, as well as in reducing the chances of groundwater contamination. Total facility costs are roughly estimated and found to be generally competitive with other MRS concepts. 4 references, 3 figures, 3 tables.

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
OSTI Identifier:
6342036
Report Number(s):
LA-10022-MS
ON: DE85002345
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE; SPECIFICATIONS; SPENT FUEL ELEMENTS; FUEL ELEMENTS; MANAGEMENT; RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE; REACTOR COMPONENTS; SPENT FUEL STORAGE; STORAGE; WASTE MANAGEMENT; WASTE STORAGE; 050900* - Nuclear Fuels- Transport, Handling, & Storage

Citation Formats

Muir, D.W. Compact approach to monitored retrievable storage of spent fuel. United States: N. p., 1984. Web. doi:10.2172/6342036.
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Muir, D.W. Compact approach to monitored retrievable storage of spent fuel. United States. doi:10.2172/6342036.
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Muir, D.W. Sat . "Compact approach to monitored retrievable storage of spent fuel". United States. doi:10.2172/6342036. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6342036.
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@article{osti_6342036,
title = {Compact approach to monitored retrievable storage of spent fuel},
author = {Muir, D.W.},
abstractNote = {Recent federal waste-management legislation has raised national interest in monitored retrievable storage (MRS) of unprocessed spent fuel from civilian nuclear power plants. We have reviewed the current MRS design approaches, and we have examined an alternative concept that is extremely compact in terms of total land use. This approach may offer substantial advantages in the areas of monitoring and in safeguards against theft, as well as in reducing the chances of groundwater contamination. Total facility costs are roughly estimated and found to be generally competitive with other MRS concepts. 4 references, 3 figures, 3 tables.},
doi = {10.2172/6342036},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1984},
month = {Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1984}
}
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Technical Report:
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DOI:  10.2172/6342036
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  • We examine a new approach to monitored retrievable storage (MRS) that is extremely compact in terms of total land use and may offer increased security and reduced environmental impact, relative to current designs. This approach involves embedding the spent fuel assemblies in monolithic blocks of metallic aluminum. While this would clearly require increased effort in the spent-fuel packaging phase, it would offer in return the above-mentioned environmental advantages, plus the option of easily extending the surface-storage time scale from several years to several decades if a need for longer storage times should arise in the future.

  • Part 72, ''Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste,'' of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations specifies the information to be supplied in applications for licenses to store spent fuel in an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) or to store spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste in a monitored retrievable storage (MRS) installation. However, Part 72 does not specify the format for presentation of the safety analysis report (SAR). Guidance on the content of the SAR will vary, depending on the type of installation that is planned. This guide representsmore » a Standard Format that is acceptable to the NRC staff for the SAR required for the license application. Conformance with this Standard Format, however, is not mandatory. License applications with differing SAF formats will be acceptable to the staff if they provide an adequate basis for the findings required for the issuance of a license.« less

  • ;
    OLDAGE is a computer program used to calculate the amount of spent fuel and/or HLW transferred to and from the various fuel cycle facilities (i.e., reactors, reprocessing, MRS, or repository) within the nuclear waste management system. OLDAGE analyzes the logistics of transporting and storing spent fuel and high-level waste among fuel cycle facilities using the priority rule of oldest fuel/waste first. The transfer of spent fuel/HLW from one location to the other is limited by the handling capacity of each location. Although the program has the potential for a wide range of applications, the purpose for its development was tomore » provide the material flow balance input for another program, CASMO. CASMO is used to calculate the total miles for one or more MRS sites based on the amount of fuel transferred into and out of the MRS, and the corresponding transportation costs for specific MRS sites. The results produced by executing OLDAGE provide a decision tool to aid in planning and scheduling spent fuel/HLW shipments, siting MRS facilities, determining at-reactor storage capacity requirements, handling rates, and needed facility start-up dates. 2 references, 2 figures.« less

  • This report provides background information on nuclear waste transportation issues for an upcoming review of waste shipping cask designs. The focus of this report is related issues pertaining to at-reactor storage, monitored retrievable storage, and the mix of spent fuel transportation modes (railroad, highway and waterways) that will determine impacts of spent fuel transportation to a geologic repository. Part 1 traces the evolution of the civilian radioactive waste management program from its inception through passage of the 1987 amendments to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982. It emphasizes the factors that will influence the configuration of the transportationmore » system for high-level nuclear waste and related cask design. Part 2 deals with at-reactor storage of wastes. Options for at-reactor storage of waste include expanding pool storage, consolidation and compaction of wastes in pool storage, and various forms of dry storage. Storage needs at-reactor are estimated, and storage options are evaluated on the basis of their ability to meet those needs. Part 3 deals with the MRS facility. The status of the MRS is reviewed starting with the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act. Studies of the MRS by the State of Tennessee and DOE are reviewed. Alternatives to the MRS, such as the Integrated No-MRS waste management system configuration are discussed. The activities of the MRS Review Commission are also reviewed. Part 4 deals with transportation of wastes from reactors to the MRS or final disposal facility. Road, rail and water transport are evaluated, as are mixtures of different modes. The implications of transportation mode on cask design are discussed, as is the potential for transportation system optimization. The last section applies the as-low-as-reasonably-achievable (ALARA) standard to the problem of radioactive waste transportation. 106 refs., 14 figs., 14 tabs. (MHB)« less

  • ;
    The COBRA-SFS (Spent Fuel Storage) computer code was used to predict temperature distributions in a concrete Sealed Storage Cask (SSC). This cask was designed for the Department of Energy in the Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) program for storage of spent fuel from commercial power operations. Analytical results were obtained for nominal operation of the SSC with spent fuel from 36 PWR fuel assemblies consolidated in 12 cylindrical canisters. Each canister generates 1650 W of thermal power. A parametric study was performed to assess the effects on cask thermal performance of thermal conductivity of the concrete, the fin material, and themore » amount of radial reinforcing steel bars (rebar). Seven different cases were modeled. The results of the COBRA-SFS analysis of the current cask design predict that the peak fuel cladding temperature in the SSC will not exceed the 37/sup 0/C design limit for the maximum spent fuel load of 19.8 kW and a maximum expected ambient temperature of 37.8/sup 0/C (100/sup 0/F). The results of the parametric analyses illustrate the importance of material selection and design optimization with regard to the SSC thermal performance.« less