On-site Transport of Spent Fuel Casks : the Belgian Approach

In Belgium, spent fuel is currently stored at the nuclear sites in dedicated ISFSI. The spent fuel assemblies are transferred between the fuel buildings and those facilities by means of robust spent fuel casks (transfer shuttle or dual purpose cask, designed with reference to the IAEA rules). Public transport of spent fuel is well regulated by the IAEA Safety Guides and Safety Requirements, which define criteria and test conditions for routine, normal and accidental conditions, covering the risks during public transport. Nonetheless, on-site transfer occurs in well-known conditions and in a supervised environment, so spent fuel casks users could decide to carry out the on-site transfer with some differences compared to the configuration for public transport (e.g. without the impact limiters). Such site-specific transfer configurations are currently part of the discussions in the framework of IAEA’s GeTec working group (Approach to define generic test conditions for dual purpose casks 2016 - 2019). Based on a Hazard Identification (HAZID) study conducted at each site, a Fuel Transfer Reference Document has been developed for the Belgian NPP sites of Tihange and Doel, defining, for the specific on-site transport, the administrative and practical requirements to be met as well as the additional safety evaluations needed for the used transfer configuration to satisfy the conclusions of the site Hazard Identification study. This paper will share the approach developed by Engie to establish its Fuel Transfer Reference Document.