SPENT FUEL TRANSPORT

Spent Fuel Transportation Storage Systems Fuel Cycle Consulting Services Centrifuge Manufacturing... 

ZACHAR, M., PRETESACQUE, R, Burnup credit in spent fuel transport to COGEMA La Hague reprocessing planf Int. J. Radioact. Mater. Transp. 5 2-4 (1994) 273-278. 

McCLURE, J.D., The Probability of Spent Fuel Transportation Accidents, Rep. SAND-80-1721, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM (1981). 

Riel Processing, Spent-Fuel Transportation, Storage and Waste Disposal... 

The option for spent fuel management activity dealt with the identification of technically viable possibilities for research reactor spent fuel management, particularly for operational and interim storage (wet and dry), spent fuel transport (development of a dual purpose cask) and spent fuel conditioning. Moreover, it aimed to be the main source of information for the design and implementation of related facilities. 

According to the reality of these countries, it is recognized that having a spent fuel transport capability in the region strongly contributes to possible solutions for spent fuel management inside the countries (in-country solutions). It also contributes to technically feasible regional solutions that require transport of spent fuel between countries. 

To develop a consistent concept of spent fuel transportation, interim storage and disposal, a reexamination of the existing various cask and container concepts and design seems to be valriable. 

The assessment method that is reviewed in this publication is directly applicable to existing light water and heavy water reactors, and to spent fuel transported or stored in the pools outside the nuclear reactor coolant system on the site of these reactors. With some minor modifications, the method can also be used for other types of reactor such as reactors cooled with gas or with liquid... 

H. ADKINS, J. CUTA, B. KOEPPEL, A GUZMAN, and C. BAJWA, Spent Fuel Transportation Package Response to the Baltimore Tunnel Fire Scenario , 2006, NUREG/CR-6886 Rev. 1, PNNL-15313. 

A multipurpose canister (MFC) is planned for the transportation, storage, and disposal of spent fuel, minimising the amount of handling requited. 

The safety record for transport of radioactive materials including spent fuel and wastes is excellent. Information about transportation of radioactive materials including waste is managed by DOE. Codes such as RADTRAN that can calculate pubHc radiation dose owing to the passage of shipments have been developed. The maximum dosage from such shipments is a very small fraction of the typical annual radiation dose from all other sources. 

The NRC has developed special procedures for the handling, transportation, and storage of nuclear fuel because radioactivity can be a health hazard if not properly shielded. Spent fuel is typically transported by rail or tmck in heavily shielded (Type B), sealed, thick metal shipping containers designed to withstand possible accidents, such as derailments or coHisions, which may occur during transport. The NRC certifies that each shipping container meets federal requirements. The U.S. Department of Transportation sets the rules for transportation. 

The NRC also imposes special security requirements for spent fuel shipments and transport of highly enriched uranium or plutonium materials that can be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. These security measures include route evaluation, escort personnel and vehicles, communications capabiHties, and emergency plans. State governments are notified in advance of any planned shipment within their state of spent fuel, or any other radioactive materials requiring shipment in accident-proof. Type B containers. 

Nuclear power produces spent fuel that contains radionuclides that will emit radiation for hundreds and thousands of years. At present, they are being stored underground indefinitely in heavy, shock-proof containers. These containers could be stolen or may corrode with time, or leak as a result of earthquakes and tremors. Transportation and reprocessing accidents could cause environmental contamination. One solution is for the United States to go to breeder reactors, as has been done in other countries, to reduce the level and amount of radioactive waste. 

These "temporary" storage facilities were constructed with the understanding that the federal government would eventually devise a comprehensive plan for the collection, transport, and disposal of these most dangerous of all radioactive wastes. The most common system devised for "temporary storage were spent fuel pools. Spent fuel pools are structures like swimming pools, with dimensions of about 40 feet by 60 feet (15 meters by 20 meters). Spent fuel from... 

As of March 2003, there were 26 spent fuel storage facilities in the United States located in 21 states. A total of about 160,000 spent fuel units containing about 45,000 short tons (41,000 metric tons) of radioactive waste were stored on-site at nuclear power plants and off-site at special storage areas. More than 97 percent of the wastes were still being held at on-site facilities the rest had been transported to off-site locations. 

Grundfelt, B., "Transport of Radioactive Effluents with Ground-water from a Repository", KBS TR 43, 1977 Grundfelt, B., "Nuclide Migration from a Repository for Spent Fuel", KBS TR 77, 1978... 

Second bottleneck lies in the transportation capacity fuel elements that have been unloaded stay for many years in pools or in containers stored in the open air by want of transportation capacity. Those de facto intermediate storage lack the safety environment that would have been asked for if they had been conceived from the beginning as storage facilities they also lack correct physical protection and -though spent fuel from submarine is not the easiest way to a nuclear weapon - could thus attract the attention of terrorist organizations. 

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