RETHINKING MULTIPURPOSE SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL CASKS AND CANISTERS

摘要

The use of multipurpose casks and canisters for storage, transport, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is proposed to avoid the need for separate casks and canisters for each of these tasks. Multipurpose canisters and casks may lower costs and risks by making it unnecessary to move SNF from one container to another and avoid the need for multiple baskets and casks. Although multipurpose casks and canisters have been considered in the past, they were not adopted because of technological limitations and uncertainties in requirements. Recent terrorist events, the approaching licensing of repositories, changes in repository design, new technologies, and new institutional structures may now make multipurpose casks and canisters a competitive approach for SNF management.