WCS Files License Application with Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to Operate a Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) for Used Nuclear Fuel
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 28, 2016) – Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a license to construct and operate a Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) for used nuclear fuel. The filing comes after a year of pre-application meetings with NRC and maintains the timeline WCS outlined in February 2015.
The application is being led by WCS, along with its partners AREVA and NAC International, both global industry leaders in the transportation and storage of used nuclear fuel.
“It’s been a busy but productive year since we made our announcement in Washington in 2015 so I am very pleased that we are on time and on target, said WCS president & CEO Rod Baltzer.
“Thanks to the hard work of our partners at AREVA and NAC International, and input from NRC, we were able to deliver a very thorough, detailed license application this morning. As a result, I am confident that we will have a final license in approximately three years. This is a critical first step and I hope that legislative and DOE contractual matters can also be resolved in that period.”
Baltzer said the license submittal puts WCS on track for completion of a CISF as early as 2021, if such steps are accomplished within our expected timeline.
Timely solutions for the used nuclear fuel challenge in the U.S. have proved elusive for more than 40 years. Now a private sector solution for secure storage has been proposed by a company with a proven track record for licensing success.
WCS is the only privately-owned and operated facility in the United States that has been licensed to treat, store and dispose of Class A, B and C low-level radioactive waste (LLRW). Located in an arid, isolated part of west Texas, WCS offers one of the most geologically characterized locations in the United States as a result of the multi-year licensing process for that facility.
5,000 MTHM for an eventual capacity of 40,000 MTHM. Our proposal includes opportunities for 20 year renewals after the initial license period,” added Baltzer.
The primary operations performed at the site will be transferring the sealed canisters of used fuel from a transportation cask into an engineered interim fuel storage system where it will be monitored until its departure to an offsite permanent disposal location.
“Consolidated interim storage would provide system-wide benefits and flexibilities to strengthen the U.S. Used Nuclear Fuel Management Program and help advance a permanent geologic disposal program.
It creates a robust opportunity to develop and deploy the repackaging technology to prepare the used nuclear fuel currently in dry storage for final offsite disposal in a geologic repository.” said Baltzer
Other benefits of consolidated interim storage include the opportunity to reduce the risk of further degradation of on-site infrastructure at permanently shut down reactor sites and to address public concerns about transportation by demonstrating successful transport of this material.
Another chief benefit of an accelerated schedule for moving fuel away from shutdown sites is to reduce the liability to taxpayers. The taxpayer supported Judgment Fund is the source of payment of judgements against the federal government for failing to meet its contractual obligations to dispose of this material.
