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Standard Review Plan for Transportation Packages for MOX Spent Nuclear Fuel
Standard Review Plan for Transportation Packages for MOX Spent Nuclear Fuel
The NRC contracted with LLNL to compile this supplement to NUREG-1617 to incorporate additional
information specific to mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel. This supplement provides details
on package review guidance resulting from significant differences between spent nuclear fuel from
irradiated LEU fuel and that from irradiated MOX fuel. The information presented is not to be
construed as having the force and effect of NRC regulations (except where regulations are cited), or as
Report to the President by the Interagency Review Group on Nuclear Waste Management
Report to the President by the Interagency Review Group on Nuclear Waste Management
Report to the President from the Interagency Review Group on Nuclear Waste Management (IRG) established last March at the direction of the President. In October a draft report was offered for public review, and extensive comments were received. This final report presents the findings, policy considerations, and recommendations reached by the IRG as of this date.
Spent Fuel Burnup Credit in Casks: An NRC Perspective
Spent Fuel Burnup Credit in Casks: An NRC Perspective
Until now, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) approval of criticality safety evaluations for spent fuel in transport and storage casks has been based on analyzing the fuel as though it were fresh and without burnable poisons. The well-known nuclide composition of fresh fuel has provided a straightforward and bounding approach for showing that spent fuel systems will remain subcritical under normal and accident conditions. Burnup credit refers to the approval of criticality safety evaluations that consider the decrease in fuel reactivity caused by. irradiation in the reactor.
Selection of Reactor Criticals as Benchmarks for Spent Nuclear Fuels
Selection of Reactor Criticals as Benchmarks for Spent Nuclear Fuels
An Empirical Approach to Bounding the Axial Reactivity Effects of PWR Spent Nuclear Fuel
An Empirical Approach to Bounding the Axial Reactivity Effects of PWR Spent Nuclear Fuel
One of the significant issues yet to be resolved for using
burnup credit ~BUC! for spent nuclear fuel ~SNF! is establishing
a set of depletion parameters that produce an adequately conservative
representation of the fuel’s isotopic inventory. Depletion
parameters ~such as local power, fuel temperature, moderator temperature,
burnable poison rod history, and soluble boron concentration!
affect the isotopic inventory of fuel that is depleted in a
pressurized water reactor ~PWR!. However, obtaining the detailed
Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Low-Enriched Uranium Spent Fuels for Burnup Credit Application
Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Low-Enriched Uranium Spent Fuels for Burnup Credit Application
Criticality safety analysis devoted to spent-fuel storage and transportation has to be conservative in order to be sure no accident will ever happen. In the spent-fuel storage field, the assumption of freshness has been used to achieve the conservative aspect of criticality safety procedures. Nevertheless, after being irradiated in a reactor core, the fuel elements have obviously lost part of their original reactivity. The concept of taking into account this reactivity loss in criticality safety analysis is known as burnup credit.
Computational Benchmark of SAS2D Against Spent Fuel Samples from the Takahama-3 Reactor
Computational Benchmark of SAS2D Against Spent Fuel Samples from the Takahama-3 Reactor
Investigation of the Effect of Fixed Absorbers on the Reactivity of PWR Spent Nuclear Fuel for Burnup Credit
Investigation of the Effect of Fixed Absorbers on the Reactivity of PWR Spent Nuclear Fuel for Burnup Credit
The effect of fixed absorbers on the reactivity of pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in support of burnup-credit criticality safety analyses is examined. A fuel assembly burned in conjunction with fixed absorbers may have a higher reactivity for a given burnup than an assembly that has not used fixed absorbers. As a result, guidance on burnup credit, issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Spent Fuel Project Office, recommends restricting the use of burnup credit to assemblies that have not used burnable absorbers.
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Report under the Joint Convention by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Second Review Meeting in May 2006
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Report under the Joint Convention by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Second Review Meeting in May 2006
The Federal Government will continue to meet Germany’s existing international obligations, par- ticularly with regard to fulfilment of the Joint Convention. In submitting this report, the Federal Re- public of Germany is demonstrating its compliance with the Joint Convention and ensuring the safe operation of facilities for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, including the de- commissioning of nuclear installations. At the same time, there is still a need for future action in order to maintain the required high standards of safety and ensure disposal.
Spent Fuel Transportation Risk Assessment, Final Report
Spent Fuel Transportation Risk Assessment, Final Report
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responsible for issuing regulations for the
packaging of spent fuel (and other large quantities of radioactive material) for transport that
provide for public health and safety during transport (Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) Part 71, “Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Waste,” dated
January 26, 2004). In September 1977, the NRC published NUREG-0170, “Final Environmental
Statement on the Transportation of Radioactive Material by Air and Other Modes,” which
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Australian National Report, October 2005
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Australian National Report, October 2005
The responsibility for the governance of Australia is shared by the Australian government and the governments of the six states and two self governing territories. Responsibility for radiation health and safety in each State and Territory rests with the respective State/Territory government, unless the activity is carried out by an Australian government agency or a contractor to a Australian government agency; in those cases the activity is regulated by the Australian government.
NRC SFST ISG-2: Fuel Retrievability
NRC SFST ISG-2: Fuel Retrievability
This Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) provides guidance to the staff for determining if
storage systems to be licensed under 10 CFR Part 72 allow ready retrieval of spent fuel.
This guidance is not a regulation or a requirement.
NRC SFST ISG-7: Potential Generic Issue Concerning Cask Heat Transfer in a Transportation Accident
NRC SFST ISG-7: Potential Generic Issue Concerning Cask Heat Transfer in a Transportation Accident
Staff raised two major issues concerning the adverse effects of fission gases to the gas-mixture
thermal conductivity in a spent fuel canister in a post accident environment. The two major
concerns were: (1) the reduction of the thermal conductivity of the canister gas by the mixing of
fission gases expelled from failed fuel pins and (2) the resultant temperature and pressure rise
within the canister. Since the fission gas is typically of a lower conductivity than the cover gas,
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Second Austrian National Report
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Second Austrian National Report
In Austria there is neither a nuclear power plant (NPP) nor any other fuel cycle facility in op- eration. One NPP was constructed in Zwentendorf in the 1970s, but, as a consequence of the negative vote in a referendum never put into operation. Two out of three research reactors in Austria have been shut down (ASTRA Seibersdorf in 2000, SIEMENS Argonaut Graz in 2004) and are currently under decommissioning. The remaining TRIGA research reactor in Vienna is still in operation. Spent nuclear fuel is stored on site in wet or dry storage facilities.
NRC SFST ISG-8: Burnup Credit in the Criticality Safety Analyses of PWR Spent Fuel in Transportation and Storage Casks
NRC SFST ISG-8: Burnup Credit in the Criticality Safety Analyses of PWR Spent Fuel in Transportation and Storage Casks
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 71, Packaging and Transportation of
Radioactive Material, and 10 CFR Part 72, Licensing Requirements for the Independent
Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater
Than Class C Waste, require that spent nuclear fuel (SNF) remain subcritical in transportation
and storage, respectively. Unirradiated reactor fuel has a well-specified nuclide composition
that provides a straightforward and bounding approach to the criticality safety analysis of
NRC SFST ISG-11: Cladding Considerations for the Transportation and Storage of Spent Fuel
NRC SFST ISG-11: Cladding Considerations for the Transportation and Storage of Spent Fuel
The staff has broadened the technical basis for the storage of spent fuel including assemblies
with average burnups exceeding 45 GWd/MTU. This revision to Interim Staff Guidance No. 11
(ISG-11) addresses the technical review aspects of and specifies the acceptance criteria for
limiting spent fuel reconfiguration in storage casks. It modifies the previous revision of the ISG
in three ways: (1) by clarifying the meaning of some of the acceptance criteria contained in
Questions and Answers to the National Report of the Czech Republic
Questions and Answers to the National Report of the Czech Republic
Questions and Answers to the National Report of the Czech Republic
NRC SFST ISG-20: Transportation Package Design Changes Authorized Under 10 CFR Part 71 Without Prior NRC Approval
NRC SFST ISG-20: Transportation Package Design Changes Authorized Under 10 CFR Part 71 Without Prior NRC Approval
Authority for licensees to transport radioactive material comes from 10 CFR Part 71. Licensees
are authorized to transport Type B quantities and fissile materials in NRC-certified packages
under the general license in 71.17. Unlike 10 CFR Part 72, Part 71 does not include change
authority, that is, there is no specific Part 71 regulation that allows licensees to make changes in
the design or operation of an NRC-certified package without prior NRC approval. However,
Spent Fuel Transportation Applications— Assessment of Cladding Performance
Spent Fuel Transportation Applications— Assessment of Cladding Performance
This report summarizes the results of EPRI’s multi-year research effort to assess cladding
performance under normal and hypothetical accident conditions of spent nuclear fuel
transportation.
Joint Convention Questions Posted to Denmark in 2006
Joint Convention Questions Posted to Denmark in 2006
Joint Convention Questions Posted to Denmark in 2006
Transportation of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Regulatory Issues Resolution
Transportation of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Regulatory Issues Resolution
The U.S. industry’s limited efforts at licensing transportation packages characterized as “highcapacity,”
or containing “high-burnup” (>45 GWd/MTU) commercial spent nuclear fuel
(CSNF), or both, have not been successful considering existing spent-fuel inventories that will
have to be eventually transported. A holistic framework is proposed for resolving several CSNF
transportation issues. The framework considers transportation risks, spent-fuel and cask-design
Industry Spent Fuel Storage Handbook
Industry Spent Fuel Storage Handbook
The Industry Spent Fuel Storage Handbook (“the Handbook”) addresses the relevant aspects of at-reactor spent (or used) nuclear fuel (SNF) storage in the United States. With the prospect of SNF being stored at reactor sites for the foreseeable future, it is expected that all U.S. nuclear power plants will have to implement at-reactor dry storage by 2025 or shortly thereafter. The Handbook provides a broad overview of recent developments for storing SNF at U.S. reactor sites, focusing primarily on at-reactor dry storage of SNF.
Used Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste Extended Storage Collaboration Program
Used Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste Extended Storage Collaboration Program
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) convened a workshop of over 40 representatives of the nuclear industry, federal government, national laboratories, and suppliers of used-fuel dry-storage systems to discuss the potential issues associated with extended dry storage of used fuel, that is, storage considerably beyond the term of current and recently proposed U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations. The workshop was held November 18-19, 2009, at EPRI's offices in Washington, DC.