Multipurpose Transportation, Aging, and Disposal Canisters for Used Nuclear Fuel - Getting From Here to There and Beyond

摘要

The idea of a universal canister system, in which used fuel can be placed at reactor sites, transported and -without ever needing to be re-opened -, disposed of in a geologic repository, is certainly not new. Originally proposed by DOE in the early 1990s as the Multi-Purpose Canister (MPC) system, this common sense idea has always had considerable appeal as a means to reduce used fuel handling and simplify repository surface facility operations. However, difficulties in launching the development of such a system, in the face of large uncertainties in repository design and limited program funding, caused the original MPC project to be abandoned in 1997. Then, after eight years of inactivity in this area, DOE, while experiencing difficulty completing the repository surface facility design and having missed a December 2004 deadline for submittal of a repository license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), re-proposed the concept. Under this renewed initiative, the MPC systems were renamed as Transportation, Aging, and Disposal or TAD canister systems. DOE's repository design had advanced significantly at this point and industry, having gained considerable experience through the design, licensing, manufacture, and loading of over 800 used fuel dry storage systems, was well positioned to provide DOE with the meaningful technical input that would be necessary to bring the TAD concept to reality.With a firm foundation on which to build, industry actively engaged DOE in an extensive series of interactions to facilitate TAD development. This paper describes the evolution of the TAD concept through the industry/DOE dialogue that occurred over an 18 month period beginning in January 2006. It discusses the technical issues that were addressed and resolved through this collaboration. Successful completion of this dialogue led to the issuance, by DOE, of a final TAD design specification in July, 2007. This specification is being used by DOE as a fundamental input to the Yucca Mountain license application that DOE expects to submit to the NRC no later than June 2008. DOE is now in the process completing a procurement of TAD demonstrations. As part of these demonstrations, DOE expects industry vendors to seek and obtain storage and transportation licenses for the TADs by 2010 and for utilities to deploy them at reactor sites by 2012.