MAKING THE NUHOMSÒ -61 BT CANISTER SYSTEM TRANSPORTABLE WORLD-WIDE

The NUHOMS® Canister based system offers utilities the option to store spent fuel in sealed canisters within concrete horizontal storage modules (HSMs). The initial design of the NUHOMS® canister for BWR fuel has a capacity for 52 fuel assemblies and is fully licensed for on-site storage under 10CFR721 . Over 30 NUHOMS® -52B canisters have been ordered and 8 have been successfully loaded to date. In 1999, Transnucleaire formed an international project team of engineers from its office in Paris, New York and California to provide a next generation NUHOMS® design, with the following objectives: · Increase capacity to 61 BWR spent fuel assemblies, · Use the existing designs of auxiliary equipment for loading spent fuel assemblies into the canister, closure operations, vacuum drying and automated welding, without modification, · Ensure compatibility with the existing NUHOMS® -OS197 transfer cask and the HSMs, which are licensed under 10CFR72, · Ensure that the canister can be licensed for transport in USA under 10CFR712 and for worldwide transport in Type B packaging, and · Prove the feasability of transporting canister to the COGEMA La Hague reprocessing plant and identify safe methods for spent fuel unloading.