Near-term commercial spent fuel shipping cask requirements
This report describes an analysis of the near-term commercial light water reactor (LWR) spent fuel transportation system. The objective was to determine if the existing commercial spent fuel shipping cask fleet is adequate to provide the needed transportation services for the period of time the US government would be authorized to accept spent fuel for Federal Interim Storage (FIS). A spent fuel shipping cask supply-demand analysis was performed to evaluate the existing fleet size. The results of the shipping cask handling capability study indicated that by weight, 75% of the spent fuel shipments will be by truck (overweight plus legal-weight truck). From the results of the shipping cask supply-demand analysis it was concluded that, if utilities begin large-scale applications for FIS, the five legal-weight truck (LWT) casks currently in service would be inadequate to perform all of the needed shipments as early as 1987. This further assumes that a western site would be selected for the FIS facility. If the FIS site were to be located in the East, the need for additional LWT casks would be delayed by about two years. The overweight truck (OWT) cask fleet (two PWR and two BWR versions) will be adequate through 1992 if some shipments to FIS can be made several years before a reactor is projected to lose full core reserve. This is because OWT cask requirements increase gradually over the next several years. The feasibility of shipping before losing full core reserve has not been evaluated. Cask utilization requirements in later years will be reduced if some shipments can be made prior to the time they are actually needed. The existing three rail casks are adequate to perform near-term shipments. 18 references, 4 figures, 18 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6418253
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-5284; ON: DE85004343
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Overweight truck shipments to nuclear waste repositories: legal, political, administrative and operational considerations
Status of spent-fuel transportation system development
Related Subjects
Handling
& Storage
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
AVAILABILITY
BWR TYPE REACTORS
CASKS
CONTAINERS
ENERGY SOURCES
FUELS
LAND TRANSPORT
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FUELS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
RAIL TRANSPORT
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTORS
ROAD TRANSPORT
SPENT FUEL CASKS
SPENT FUELS
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
TRANSPORT
TRUCKS
VEHICLES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS