TN INTERNATIONAL’S NEW CASKS: DESIGNING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Environmental protection has become an integral part of the entire cask life cycle: Design and Fabrication Transportation Loading, Unloading and Operation Maintenance, End of Life Cycle and Decommissioning Three new environmentally-friendly cask concepts were developed: the MX6, the TN112 and the multi-purpose shell. The eco-design approach was used to reduce their environmental impacts and address environmental issues such as waste generation and management, greenhouse gases linked to transportation, and scarcity of raw materials, all while improving operating performance. The result is greater responsiveness to the customer and a more comprehensive approach to potential regulatory changes. The cask design optimizes all of the impacting factors, such as raw materials quantity, radiological protection capacity, and the use of more environmentally-friendly materials and fabrication processes. To illustrate, the new MX6 concept may be compared to the standard FS65 concept. In the area of Design and Fabrication, the MX6 requires fewer raw materials and can lower the cask weight/transported assembly weight ratio. An adjustable basket concept was developed. . The new cask is also more effective in terms of radiation protection as a result of improved materials performance. . In the area of fabrication, all waste is transferred to suitable processing systems that promote recycling. In the area of Transportation, shipments are reduced by 33%, thus reducing diesel fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Also, in the area of Operations, the amount of waste generated per assembly shipped is minimized, as are the number of operations and the time spent on them by the operators. In the area of Maintenance and Decommissioning, extensive, time-consuming maintenance operations are minimized, as is the waste generated by them. The TN112 cask reduces exposure by 15%, uses fewer raw materials, and has a faster turnaround time due to optimized tooling. For waste subject to radiolysis, irradiators and discontinued casks, attention focused on limiting the use of complicated materials and rare woods. Keeping the cask simple reduces the number of maintenance, decontamination and decommissioning operations to be performed later. This concept can be applied to a variety of contents. ©