Storage and Transportation of Irradiated Reactor Components in Large Packages

Historically, most irradiated reactor components (hardware such as Control Rod Blades, Fuel Channels, Poison Curtains, etc) generated at reactors require processing for size reduction due to the available transportation casks not being physically capable of containing unprocessed material. Disposal for this typical waste class (B and C) became inaccessible for the major part of the nation due to the Barnwell disposal facility being closed to all but its three compact states in July, 2008. The result in the United States is most facilities require their irradiated hardware to be placed in interim storage on-site. The lack of a specific acceptable future disposal facility posses challenges for spent fuel pool space and capacity management. Thus on-site or off-site storage will need to be considered as an option until such time as disposal is available. The situation is also a problem for shutdown plants scheduled for decommissioning and requiring interim storage for segmented reactor vessels and internals. In response, Transnuclear Inc., a part of AREVA’s Logistics Business Unit, proceeded with designing a new large Radioactive Waste Container (RWC) that can be used to package these materials without the need for significant processing. The design features of the RWC allow for intermittent loadings of the hardware for better packaging efficiency, higher packaging density, space savings and reduced cost. This RWC is also compatible with TN’s on-site modular vault storage system. Once completely loaded, the RWC can be transported to an on-site storage facility, an off-site storage facility and/or a future disposal facility when that option is available. To accommodate RWC transportation, TN has designed a large transportation cask, the MP197HB. As the original design was for transporting spent fuel, it contains the necessary shielding to allow for the transport of unprocessed irradiated reactor components while significantly reducing the amount of irradiated hardware shipments required with the use of the new RWC. This paper provides information on the unique design features of RWC and MP197HB Transportation Cask, compatible modular storage technology and the cost saving benefits of using the large RWC for packaging, storage, transport and disposal.