REGULATORS EXPERIENCES IN LICENSING AND INSPECTION OF DRY CASK STORAGE FACILITIES

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), through the combination of a rigorous licensing and inspection program, ensures the safety and security of dry cask storage. NRC authorizes the storage of spent fuel at an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) under two licensing options: site-specific licensing and general licensing. In July 1986, the NRC issued the first site specific license to the Surry Nuclear Power Plant in Virginia authorizing the interim storage of spent fuel in a dry storage cask configuration. Presently, there are over 40 ISFSIs currently licensed by the NRC with over 800 loaded dry casks. Current projections identify over 50 ISFSIs by the year 2010. No releases of spent fuel dry storage cask contents or other significant safety problems from the storage systems in use today have been reported. This paper discusses the NRC licensing and inspection experiences.