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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
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
Key Issues Associated with Interim Storage of Used Nuclear Fuel
Key Issues Associated with Interim Storage of Used Nuclear Fuel
The issue of interim storage of used (spent)1 fuel is dependent on a number of key factors, some
of which are not known at this time but are the subject of this study. The first is whether or not
the Yucca Mountain Project continues or is cancelled such that it may be able to receive spent
fuel from existing and decommissioned nuclear power stations. The second is whether the United
States will pursue a policy of reprocessing and recycling nuclear fuel. The reprocessing and
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
Dry Cask Storage of Nuclear Spent Fuel
Dry Cask Storage of Nuclear Spent Fuel
Dry Cask Storage of Nuclear Spent Fuel
Dry Cask Storage of Nuclear Spent Fuel
This presentation was given by Earl Easton at the 2011 National State Liaison Officers Conference in Bethesda, MD.
The presentation highlights the current state of spent nuclear fuel as well as the progress toward its ultimate disposal.
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.
Cost Estimate for an Away-From-Reactor Generic Interim Storage Facility (GISF) for Spent Nuclear Fuel
Cost Estimate for an Away-From-Reactor Generic Interim Storage Facility (GISF) for Spent Nuclear Fuel
As nuclear power plants began to run out of storage capacity in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage pools, many nuclear operating companies added higher density pool storage racks to increase pool capacity. Most nuclear power plant storage pools have been re-racked one or more times. As many spent fuel storage pools were re-racked to the maximum extent possible, nuclear operating companies began to employ interim dry storage technologies to store SNF in certified casks and canister-based systems outside of the storage pool in independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs).
International Review Team Report: A Peer Review of the Yucca Mountain IMARC Total System Performance Assessment EPRI Model
International Review Team Report: A Peer Review of the Yucca Mountain IMARC Total System Performance Assessment EPRI Model
Since 1989, EPRI has been conducting independent assessments of the proposed deep geologic repository for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. EPRI pioneered application of the total system performance assessment (TSPA) approach for evaluating performance of geologic repository systems on a probabilistic basis. Along the way, EPRI developed the Integrated Multiple Assumptions and Release Code (IMARC) as its primary analytical tool for TSPA-based evaluations.
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste: Volume III --Review of National Repository Programs
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste: Volume III --Review of National Repository Programs
The effective termination of the Yucca Mountain program by the U.S. Administration in 2009
has left the U.S. program for management of used fuel and high level radioactive waste (HLW)
in a state of uncertainty. In concert with this major policy reset and in response to the resulting
policy vacuum, the President directed the Energy Secretary to establish the Blue Ribbon
Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (BRC) “…to conduct a comprehensive review of
policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and to provide recommendations for
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste: Volume II --U.S. Regulations for Geologic Disposal
EPRI Review of Geologic Disposal for Used Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste: Volume II --U.S. Regulations for Geologic Disposal
U.S. efforts to site and construct a deep geologic repository for used fuel and high level
radioactive waste (HLW) proceeded in fits and starts over a three decade period from the late
1950s until 1982, when the U.S. Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA). This
legislation codified a national approach for developing a deep geologic repository. Amendment
of the NWPA in 1987 resulted in a number of dramatic changes in direction for the U.S.
program, most notably the selection of Yucca Mountain as the only site of the three remaining
Technical Bases for Extended Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel
Technical Bases for Extended Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel
Independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) are currently licensed for 20 years. However, delays in developing permanent spent fuel disposal capability require continued ISFSI storage beyond the 20-year term. This report provides a technical basis for demonstrating the feasibility of extended spent fuel storage in ISFSIs.
Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation: An Overview
Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation: An Overview
Spent nuclear fuel comprises a fraction of the hazardous materials packages shipped annually in the United States. In fact, at the present time, fewer than 100 packages of spent nuclear fuel are shipped annually. At the onset of spent fuel shipments to the proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada, repository, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) expects to ship 400 - 500 spent fuel transport casks per year over the life of the facility.
Occupational Risk Consequences of the Department of Energy's Approach to Repository Design, Performance Assessment, and Operation in the Yucca Mountain License Application
Occupational Risk Consequences of the Department of Energy's Approach to Repository Design, Performance Assessment, and Operation in the Yucca Mountain License Application
EPRI has discovered several aspects of the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) proposed design and operation of the Yucca Mountain repository that—if implemented as described in the license application (LA)—could result in unnecessary occupational health and safety risk to workers involved with repository-related activities. This report identifies key DOE conservatisms and focuses on the occupational risk consequences of the DOE's approach to the repository design, performance assessment, and operation.
Evaluation of a Spent Fuel Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Evaluation of a Spent Fuel Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
In June 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted a license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the construction of a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The license application was accepted for formal NRC review in September 2008. Throughout the more than 20-year history of the Yucca Mountain project, EPRI has performed independent assessments of key technical and scientific issues to facilitate an understanding of overall repository performance.
Criticality Risks During Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel
Criticality Risks During Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel
This report presents a best-estimate probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) to quantify the frequency of criticality accidents during railroad transportation of spent nuclear fuel casks. The assessment is of sufficient detail to enable full scrutiny of the model logic and the basis for each quantitative parameter contributing to criticality accident scenario frequencies. The report takes into account the results of a 2007 peer review of the initial version of this probabilistic risk assessment, which was published as EPRI Technical Report 1013449 in December 2006.
An Updated Perspective on the US Nuclear Fuel Cycle
An Updated Perspective on the US Nuclear Fuel Cycle
There has been a resurgence of interest in the possibility of processing the US spent nuclear fuel, instead of burying it in a geologic repository. Accordingly, key topical findings from three relevant EPRI evaluations made in the 1990-1995 timeframe are recapped and updated to accommodate a few developments over the subsequent ten years. Views recently expressed by other US entities are discussed.
The Likelihood of Criticality Following Disposal of SF/HLW/HEU/Pu
The Likelihood of Criticality Following Disposal of SF/HLW/HEU/Pu
Draft Mission Plan Amendment
Draft Mission Plan Amendment
The Department of Energy’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management prepared this document to report plans for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program, whose mission is to manage and dispose of the nation’s spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste in a manner that protects the health and safety of the public and of workers and the quality of the environment. The Congress established this program through the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (see Appendix A), though efforts to solve the waste-disposal problem go back several decades.
Sister Rod Examinations at ORNL for the HBU Spent Fuel Data Project
Sister Rod Examinations at ORNL for the HBU Spent Fuel Data Project
Presentation made at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Extended Storage Collaboration Project (ESCP) meeting November 2016 discussing the status of nondestructive examinations being performed on high burnup (HBU) sent nuclear fuel (SNF) rods at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and proposed destructive examinations that will be performed over the next several years.
Generic Repository Design Concepts and Thermal Analysis (FY11)
Generic Repository Design Concepts and Thermal Analysis (FY11)
Reference concepts for geologic disposal of used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the U.S. are developed, including geologic settings and engineered barriers. Repository thermal analysis is demonstrated for a range of waste types from projected future, advanced nuclear fuel cycles. The results show significant differences among geologic media considered (clay/shale, crystalline rock, salt), and also that waste package size and waste loading must be limited to meet targeted maximum temperature values.
Report to Congress on the Demonstration of the Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel from Decommissioned Nuclear Power Reactor Sites
Report to Congress on the Demonstration of the Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel from Decommissioned Nuclear Power Reactor Sites
This report discusses the status of the commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) inventory in the United States, at both decommissioned and operating commercial nuclear power reactor sites; summarizes the contractual arrangement the government and utilities have under the Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste (10 CFR Part 961) (Standard Contract), related litigation, and the financial liabilities resulting from the Department’s delay in performance under these contracts; provides a history of interim storage policy as it relates to commercial SN
Advanced Fuel Cycle Cost Basis
Advanced Fuel Cycle Cost Basis
This report, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), provides a comprehensive set of cost data supporting a cost analysis for the relative economic comparison of options for use in the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) Program. The report describes the AFCI cost basis development process, reference information on AFCI cost modules, a procedure for estimating fuel cycle costs, economic evaluation guidelines, and a discussion on the integration of cost data into economic computer models.