TRANSPORTATION OF SPENT FUEL FROM REACTORS TO DOE STORAGE/ DISPOSAL FACILITIES -- SAFETY FEATURES OF CASK DESIGN

The design requirements for spent fuel transport casks, necessary to meet the regulatory requirements of NRC, are identified and discussed in this paper. Basically, the regulatory philosophy requires container designs to maintain shielding, containment of radioactive materials, and criticality control under normal conditions of transport as well as under accident conditions. Casks are designed to meet these requirements, and the designs are frequently reverified by subjecting model casks to rigorous performance testing. This performance testing is generally accomplished using scale models of casks (rather than full-sized casks), which has introduced some controversy regarding the adequacy of scale model testing. Several scenarios of radiation exposure to the public are analyzed, and show that spent fuel transportation imposes little exposure to the public. Experience in making spent fuel shipments is discussed.