40 YEARS OF LOGISTICAL SUPPORT FOR A CLOSED FUEL CYCLE

The 500 MWe Borssele Nuclear Power Plant in The Netherlands is owned and operated by Elektriciteits-Produktiemaatschappij Zuid-Nederland N.V. (EPZ). Because the plant was designed with a minimal storage capacity for fresh and irradiated fuel, reactor operation is highly dependent on “just in time” fuel deliveries and removals. The logistical processes for the fuel cycle – supply of fresh uranium and MOX fuel, shipment of used fuel, of reprocessing waste – are described. A variety of transport casks are being used, mainly the ANF-18 for fresh fuel, the MX-6 for MOX, the TN17/2 for used fuel and the TN28VT for radioactive residues.At several moments in the 40-years history of the Borssele plant, the fuel decay pool has been critically overcrowded because of mismatches between deliveries and removals. Repeated rack compaction, to increase capacity of the fuel pool storage racks, has added operational flexibility. It appears that the shipment of used fuel to France, for reprocessing in La Hague, is the logistical process most vulnerable to legal and political interference. AREVA and EPZ have sought to increase logistical robustness by making the used fuel shipments as efficient as practicable. As a result, the original transport procedure of 3 assemblies at one time will be replaced by shipments of 27 fuel assemblies at one time, after introduction of a fleet of newly designed TN17MAX casks in the near future.