Overview of High-Level Nuclear Waste Materials Transportation: Processes, Regulations, Experience and Outlook in the U.S.

Every year, more than 300 million packages of hazardous material are shipped in the United States (U.S.). Most of the hazardous material shipped – about 97 percent – is flammable, explosive, corrosive or poisonous. About 1 percent – three million packages – of the hazardous materials shipped annually contains radioactive material, most of them from medical and industrial applications. [DOT 1998b] Spent nuclear fuel comprises a very small fraction of the hazardous materials packages

slides - Cumulative Impact of Regulatory Actions Dry Fuel Storage

Presented at the NEI Used Fuel Management Conference, St. Petersburg, FL, May 7-9, 2013

Co-Chair Letter to Sec. Chu

Dear Secretary Chu: At the direction of the President, you charged the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future with reviewing policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and recommending a new plan. We thank you for choosing us to serve as Co- Chairmen of the Commission and for selecting the talented and dedicated set of Commissioners with whom we serve. We have sought to ensure that our review is comprehensive, open and inclusive. The Commission and its subcommittees have heard from hundreds of individuals and

Principle Isotope Burnup Credit Loading Curve for the 21 PWR Waste Package

The purpose of this calculation is to determine the required minimum burnup as a function of initial pressurized water reactor (PWR) assembly enrichment that would permit loading of fuel into the 21 PWR waste package (WP), as provided for in QAP-2-0 Activity Evaluation, Perform Criticality, Thermal, Structural, & Shielding Analyses (Reference 7.1).

Limited Burnup Credit in Criticality Safety Analysis: A Comparison of ISG-8 and Current International Practice

This report has been prepared to qualitatively assess the amount of burnup credit (reactivity margin) provided by ISG-8 compared to that provided by the burnup credit methodology developed and currently applied in France. For the purposes of this study, the methods proposed in the DOE Topical Report have been applied to the ISG-8 framework since this methodology (or one similar to it) is likely to form the basis of initial cask licensing applications employing limited burnup credit in the United States.

Recommendations on the Credit for Cooling Time in PWR Burnup Credit Analyses

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's guidance on burnup credit for pressurized-water-reactor (PWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) recommends that analyses be based on a cooling time of five years. This recommendation eliminates assemblies with shorter cooling times from cask loading and limits the allowable credit for reactivity reduction associated with cooling time. This report examines reactivity behavior as a function of cooling time to assess the possibility of expanding the current cooling time recommendation for SNF storage and transportation.

Hydrogen-Induced Cracking of the Drip Shield

Hydrogen-induced cracking is characterized by the decreased ductility and fracture toughness of a material due to the absorption of atomic hydrogen in the metal crystal lattice. Corrosion is the source of hydrogen generation. For the current design of the engineered barrier without backfill, hydrogen-induced cracking may be a concern because the titanium drip shield can be galvanically coupled to rock bolts (or wire mesh), which may fall onto the drip shield, thereby creating conditions for hydrogen production by electrochemical reaction.

An Approach for Validating Actinide and Fission Product Burnup Credit Criticality Safety Analyses-Criticality (keff) Predictions

Taking credit for the reduced reactivity of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in criticality analyses is referred to as burnup credit (BUC). Criticality safety evaluations require validation of the computational methods with critical experiments that are as similar as possible to the safety analysis models, and for which the keff values are known. This poses a challenge for validation of BUC criticality analyses, as critical experiments with actinide and fission product (FP)

Analysis of Dust Deliquescence for FEP Screening

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the potential for penetration of the Alloy 22 (UNS N06022) waste package outer barrier by localized corrosion due to the deliquescence of soluble constituents in dust present on waste package surfaces. The results support a recommendation to exclude deliquescence-induced localized corrosion (pitting or crevice corrosion) of the outer barrier from the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA-LA).

Evaluation of Codisposal Viability for MOX (FFTF) DOE-Owned Fuel

There are more than 250 forms of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-owned spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Due to the variety of the spent nuclear fuel, the National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program (NSNFP) has designated nine representative fuel groups for disposal criticality analyses based on fuel matrix, primary fissile isotope, and enrichment. Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) fuel has been designated as the representative fuel for the mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel group which is a mixture of uranium and plutonium oxides.

Dissolved Concentration Limits of Elements with Radioactive Isotopes

The purpose of this study is to evaluate dissolved concentration limits (also referred to as solubility limits) of elements with radioactive isotopes under probable repository conditions, based on geochemical modeling calculations using geochemical modeling tools, thermodynamic databases, field measurements, and laboratory experiments.

SAS2H Analysis of Radiochemical Assay Sam les from H.B. Robinson PWR Reactor

The purpose of this design analysis is to determine the accuracy of the SAS2H module of SCALE 4.3 in predicting isotopic concentrations of spent fuel assemblies. The objective is to develop a methodology for modeling assemblies similar to those evaluated within this analysis and to establish the consistency of SAS2H predictions. The results of this analysis may then be applied to future depletion calculations using SAS2H in which no measurements are available.

Overview of the Section 180(c) Program: History, Lessons Learned, and Potential Next Steps

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is responsible, under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from point of origin to destination at a federal storage or disposal facility. Section 180(c), written into the Nuclear Waste Policy Act Amendments of 1987, requires OCRWM to prepare public safety officials along the routes for these shipments.

BRC Co-Chair Letter to The Honorable Fred Upton, Chairman, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and The Honorable John Shimkus, Chairman, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy

Dear Representatives Upton and Shimkus, At the direction of the President, the Secretary of Energy established the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future and charged it with reviewing policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. We are serving as the Co-Chairmen of the Commission and have taken note of your recent comments about the Commission’s work. Your comments echo those we have heard from several members of Congress and from people across the country who believe the United States should not abandon the

SAS2H Generated Isotopic Concentrations for B&W 15xl5 PWR Assembly (SCPB: N/A)

This analysis is prepared by the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MGDS) Waste Package Development Department (WPDD) to provide pressurized water reactor (PWR) isotopic composition data as a function of time for use in criticality analyses. The objectives of this evaluation are to generate burnup and decay dependant isotopic inventories and to provide these inventories in a form which can easily be utilized in subsequent criticality calculations.

SCALE-4 Analysis of Pressurized Water Reactor Critical Configurations: Volume 1-Summary

The requirements of ANSI/ANS 8.1 specify that calculational methods for away-from-reactor criticality safety analyses be validated against experimental measurements. If credit is to be taken for the reduced reactivity of burned or spent fuel relative to its original $fresh# composition, it is necessary to benchmark computational methods used in determining such reactivity worth against spent fuel reactivity measurements. This report summarizes a portion of the ongoing effort to

slides - Fuel Assembly Vibration/Shock Test - Simulating Normal Truck Transport

Presented at the NEI Used Fuel Management Conference, St. Petersburg, FL, May 7-9, 2013

Evaluation of Measured LWR Spent Fuel Composition Data for Use in Code Validation End-User Manual

Burnup credit (BUC) is a concept applied in the criticality safety analysis of spent nuclear fuel in which credit or partial credit is taken for the reduced reactivity worth of the fuel due to both fissile depletion and the buildup of actinides and fission products that act as net neutron absorbers. Typically, a two-step process is applied in BUC analysis: first, depletion calculations are performed to estimate the isotopic content of spent fuel based on its burnup history; second, three-dimensional

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

THC Sensitivity Study of Heterogeneous Permeability and Capillarity Effects

The purpose of this report is to <,locument the sensitivity of the drift-scale thermal-hydrologic- chemical (THC) seepage model (SNL 2007 [DIRS 177404]) to heterogeneities in permeability and capillarity, which could affect predicted fluxes and chemistries of water and gases seeping into the emplacement drifts. This report has been developed following Technical Work Plan for: Revision of Model Reports for Near-Field and In-Drift Water Chemistry (SNL 2007 [DIRS 179287]).

Investigation of Burnup Credit Modeling Issues Associated with BWR Fuel

This report investigates various calculational modeling issues associated with boilingwater- reactor (BWR) fuel depletion relevant to burnup credit. To date, most of the efforts in burnup-credit studies in the United States have focused on issues related to pressurized-waterreactor (PWR) fuel. However, requirements for the permanent disposal of BWR fuel have necessitated the development of methods for predicting the spent fuel contents for such fuels. Concomitant with such analyses, validation is also necessary. This report provides a summary of

Summary Report of Commercial Reactor Criticality Data for Crystal River Unit 3

The "Summary Report of Commercial Reactor Criticality Data for Crystal River Unit 3" contains the detailed information necessary to perform commercial reactor criticality (CRC) analyses for the Crystal River Unit 3 (CR3) reactor.

Review of DOE's Nuclear Energy Research and Development Program - Summary

There has been a substantial resurgence of interest in nuclear power in the United States over the past few years. One consequence has been a rapid growth in the research budget of DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). In light of this growth, the Office of Management and Budget included within the FY2006 budget request a study by the National Academy of Sciences to review the NE research programs and recommend priorities among those programs. The programs to be evaluated were: Nuclear Power

February 16, 2011 - Letter from Secretary Chu to the BRC, February 11, 2011

Dear Co-Chairs Hamilton and Scowcroft: The Obama Administration believes that nuclear energy has an important role to playas America moves to a clean energy future. One of my goals as Secretary of Energy is to help restart America's nuclear industry, creating thousands of new jobs and new export opportunities for the United States while producing the carbon free energy we need to power America's economy.

Nuclear Waste Bill Feedback

On April 25, 2013, Senators Wyden, Alexander, Feinstein, and Murkowski released a draft bill to create a sustainable, participatory process for managing nuclear waste. The senators requested comments and suggestions on the draft bill, as well as on the alternative language for siting an interim storage facility proposed by Senators Alexander and Feinstein. In addition, the senators posed eight questions on which they sought comments.