Development of Technical Data Needed to Justify Full Burnup Credit in Criticality Safety Licensing Analyses Involving Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel

This technical work plan (TWP) describes the planning of burnup credit (BUC) experimental work to be implemented by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) Lead Laboratory for Repository Systems. This TWP serves to coordinate and integrate a program to implement Work Packages S31023 to S31036 of the fiscal year 2007 annual work plan (AWP) for the Lead Laboratory. The work scope involves the development, performance, technical integration, and oversight of measurements and collection of relevant data, guided by analyses and demonstration of need. The development and execution of this TWP are implementation actions listed in the memorandum Decision on Approach to Burnup Credit from M.H. Williams to E.F. Sproat, dated December 8, 2006 (Williams 2006); this memorandum is included as Appendix A for reference
purposes. Relevant background information, as well as discussion on the issues, options, impacts, risks, recommendations, decisions, and implementation actions for commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) burnup credit is provided in the memorandum. The ultimate goal of the work described in this TWP is to develop and/or obtain the technical data needed to justify full (actinide and fission product) burnup credit in criticality safety
licensing analyses involving CSNF. As data from this program becomes available and qualified, these data will be implemented in the supporting documents to the license application (LA). Data developed or that become available subsequent to the LA submittal will be used in license amendments and/or license defense. This goal is consistent with the recommendations and decisions listed in the aforementioned memorandum. The objective of this TWP is to describe the overall framework for obtaining and using these data. As such, this TWP is a planning document used to facilitate the necessary activities to be considered for a five-year, multi-organizational experimental program, and hence includes tasks for the development of more detailed and task-specific planning documents. Specifically, testing will not be conducted under this TWP. Rather, detailed TWPs or test experimental plans will be developed to guide specific tests. This TWP provides the framework within which these detailed plans will fit.