Waste Package Filler Material Testing Report

As part of the Mined Geologic Disposal System Waste Package Development design activities, it has been determined that it may be beneficial to add material to fill the otherwise free spaces remaining in waste package after loading high-level nuclear waste. The use of filler material will benefit criticality control in spent nuclear fuel waste packages, by the moderator displacement method.

Analysis of Experimental Data for High Burnup PWR Spent Fuel Isotopic Validation--ARIANE and REBUS Programs (UO2 Fuel)

This report is part of a report series designed to document benchmark-quality radiochemical assay data against which computer code predictions of isotopic composition for spent nuclear fuel can be validated to establish the uncertainty and bias associated with the code predictions. The experimental data analyzed in the present report were acquired from two international programs: (1) ARIANE and (2) REBUS, both coordinated by Belgonucleaire. All measurements include extensive actinide and fission product data of

CRC Reactivity Calculations for Quad Cities Unit 2

In the development of a methodology to account for exposure effects on the reactivity of spent Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) fuel in the proposed Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) at Yucca Mountain, the accuracy of the methods used to predict the inventories of fissile and fissionable nuclides as well as neutron poisons present in the spent fuel must be established. One aspect ofthis confirmatory effort is accomplished by performing benchmark problems for known in-reactor critical configurations - Commercial Reactor Criticals (CRCs).

Attachment 1 - Memo, Reply to Letter to Mr. Tim Frazier

This memo sets forth the Office of Standard Contract Management's current estimate of the US Government's liability in connection with the Government's partial breach of the "standard contracts" that it executed pursuant to the NWPA of 1982. The Office of Standard Contract Management estimates that liability, as of today and based on the analysis and qualifications set forth below, to be $15.4 billion. ...

Features, Events, and Processes for the Total System Performance Assessment: Analyses

The purpose of this analysis report is to document the screening decisions and technical bases for inclusion or exclusion of each FEP identified as relevant to the TSPA and the Yucca Mountain disposal system, in accordance with the regulatory screening criteria identified for the Yucca Mountain Site.

Nuclear Wastes: Technologies for Separations and Transmutation

Disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear weapons production and power generation has caused public outcry and political consternation. Nuclear Wastes presents a critical review of some waste management and disposal alternatives to the current national policy of direct disposal of light water reactor spent fuel. The book offers clearcut conclusions for what the nation should do today and what solutions should be explored for tomorrow. The committee examines the currently used "once-through" fuel cycle versus different

Parametric Study of the Effect of Burnable Poison Rods for PWR Burnup Credit

The Interim Staff Guidance on burnup credit (ISG-8) issued by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (U.S. NRC) Spent Fuel Project Office recommends restricting the use of burnup credit to assemblies that have not used burnable absorbers. This recommended restriction eliminates a large portion of the currently discharged spent fuel assemblies from cask loading, and thus severely limits the practical usefulness of burnup credit. In the absence of readily available information on burnable poison rod (BPR)

BWR Axial Profile

The purpose of this calculation is to develop axial profiles for estimating the axial variation in burnup of a boiling water reactor (BWR) assembly spent nuclear fuel (SNF) given the average burnup of an assembly. A discharged fuel assembly typically exhibits higher burnup in the center and lower burnup at the ends of the assembly. Criticality safety analyses taking credit for SNF burnup must account for axially varying burnup relative to calculations based on uniformly distributed assembly average burnup due to the under-burned tips.

Analysis of Mechanisms for Early Waste Package / Drip Shield Failure

The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the types of defects or imperfections that could occur in a waste package or a drip shield and potentially lead to its early failure, and to estimate a probability of undetected occurrence for each type. An early failure is defined as the through-wall penetration of a waste package or drip shield due to manufacturing or handling-induced defects, at a time earlier than would be predicted by mechanistic degradation models for a defect-free waste package or drip shield.

CURRENT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NUCLEAR ENERGY RD&D PROGRAMS AND PLANS

This document summarizes DOE’s commercial nuclear energy RD&D program based on a R&D roadmap and on DOE/NE’s budget request for fiscal year 2011. The roadmap is written at a high level and is mostly qualitative in terms of activities, milestones and decisions to be made and does not contain budget information. The fiscal year 2011 budget request contains more specific and detailed information on activities, milestones, decisions, and budgets but only for fiscal year 2011 and the two preceding fiscal years.

Letter to Co‐Chairs and Members of the Joint Select Committee

Dear Co‐Chairs and Members of the Joint Select Committee: The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future was established by the Secretary of Energy at the direction of the President to review policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and recommend a new strategy. We are pleased to be serving as Co‐Chairmen of the Commission, and we are writing to you to highlight an important action we believe should be reflected in your Committee’s baseline budget projections as you craft a bipartisan plan for reducing the national budget deficit.

Long-Term Institutional Management of U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Waste Sites - Summary

This study examines concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in its planning for transition from active waste site management and remediation to what the department terms “long-term stewardship.” It examines the scientific, technical, and organizational capabilities and limitations that must be taken into account in planning for the long-term institutional management of the department’s numerous waste sites that are the legacy to this country’s nuclear weapons program. It also identifies characteristics and design criteria for effective longterm institutional management.

Surveillance of Hearing Loss Among Older Construction and Trade Workers at Department of Energy Nuclear Sites

Background Medical screening programs at three Departments of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons facilities (Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Oak Ridge, and the Savannah River Site) have included audiometric testing since approximately 1996. This report summarizes hearing evaluations through March 31, 2003. Methods Occupational examinations included a medical history, limited physical examination, and tests for medical effects from specific hazards, including audiometric testing. Hearing thresholds by frequency for DOE workers were compared to agestandardized

SCALE-4 Analysis of LaSalle Unit 1 BWR Commercial Reactor Critical Configurations

Five commercial reactor criticals (CRCs) for the LaSalle Unit 1 boiling-water reactor have been analyzed using KENO V.a, the Monte Carlo criticality code of the SCALE 4 code system. The irradiated fuel assembly isotopics for the criticality analyses were provided by the Waste Package Design team at the Yucca Mountain Project in the United States, who performed the depletion calculations using the SAS2H sequence of SCALE 4. The reactor critical measurements involved two beginning-of-cycle and three middle-of-cycle configurations. The

Evaluation of Codisposal Viability for Aluminum-Clad DOE-Owned Spent Fuel: Phase I Intact Codisposal Canister

This evaluation is prepared by the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MGDS) Waste Package Development Department (WPDD) to provide analyses of disposal of aluminum (AI)-based Department of Energy-owned research reactor spent nuclear fuel (DOE-SNF) in a codisposal waste package with five canisters of high-level waste (HLW). The analysis was performed in sufficient detail to establish the technical viability of the Al-based DOE-SNF codisposal canister option.

A Multiattribute Utility Analysis of Sites Nominated for Characterization for the First Radioactive Waste Repository - A Decision Aiding Methodology

This report presents a formal analysis of the five sites nominated as suitable for characterization for the first repository; the analysis is based on the information contained or referenced in the environmental assessments that accompany the site nominations (DOE, 1986a-e). It is intended to aid in the site-recommendation decision by providing insights into the comparative advantages and disadvantages of each site. Because no formal analysis can account for all the factors important to a decision as complex as recommending

EQ6 Calculations for Chemical Degradation of TRIGA Codisposal Waste PacKages

The Monitored Geologic Repository Waste Package Operations of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management & Operating Contractor (CRWMS M&O) performed calculations to provide input for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics (TRIGA) reactor (Ref. 1). The TRIGA SNF has been considered for disposal at the potential Yucca Mountain site.

slides - NRC Management Perspectives

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

EQ6 Calculation for Chemical Degradation of Shippingport LWBR (Th/U Oxide) Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Packages

The Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) Waste Package Department of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management & Operating contractor (CRWMS M&O) performed calculations to provide input for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the Shippingport Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) (Ref. 1). The Shippingport LWBR SNF has been considered for disposal at the potential Yucca Mountain site.

PWR Axial Burnup Profile Analysis

The purpose of this activity is to develop a representative “limiting” axial burnup profile for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), which would encompass the isotopic axial variations caused by different assembly irradiation histories, and produce conservative isotopics with respect to criticality. The effect that the low burnup regions near the ends of spent fuel have on system reactivity is termed the “end-effect”. This calculation will quantify the end-effects associated with Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) fuel assemblies emplaced in a hypothetical 21 PWR waste package.

General Corrosion and Localized Corrosion of the Drip Shield

The repository design includes a drip shield (BSC 2004 [DIRS 168489]) that provides protection for the waste package both as a barrier to seepage water contact and a physical barrier to potential rockfall. The purpose of the process-level models developed in this report is to model dry oxidation, general corrosion, and localized corrosion of the drip shield plate material, which is made of Ti Grade 7. This document is prepared ·according to Technical Work Plan For: Regulatory Integration Modeling and Analysis of the Waste Form and Waste Package (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171583]).

Draft Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Summary

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) Program, a United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) program, is intended to support a safe, secure, and sustainable expansion of nuclear energy, both domestically and internationally. Domestically, the GNEP Program would promote technologies that support economic, sustained production of nuclear-generated electricity, while reducing the impacts associated with spent nuclear fuel disposal and reducing proliferation risks. DOE envisions changing the U.S. nuclear energy fuel cycle1 from an

Reversible Bending Fatigue Testing on Zry-4 Surrogate Rods

Slides - WM2014 Symposia, March 2-6, 2014, Phoenix, AZ

Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission Updated Report

The Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology Subcommittee was formed to respond to the charge—set forth in the charter of the BRC—to evaluate existing fuel cycle technologies and R&D programs in terms of multiple criteria.

Waste Package, LCE, CRC, and Radiochemical Assay Comparison Evaluation

The purpose of this calculation is to document the validity of the commercial reactor criticals (CRC) as a source for a spent nuclear fuel benchmark, and to characterize the neutronic similarities between a CRC and a waste package (WP). This report illustrates comparisons of neutron spectrum and the effects on criticality arising from physical differences between a WP and a CRC. This report is an engineering calculation supporting the development of the disposal criticality analysis methodology, performed under Quality Administrative Procedure (QAP)-3-15 Revision 0.