THE CANDO IRRADIATED FUEL SAFEGUARDS SEALING SYSTEM AT THE THRESHOLD OF IMPLEMENTATION

The development of a safeguards containment and surveillance system for the irradiated fuel discharged from CANDU nuclear generating stations has inspired the development of three different sealing technologies. Each seal type utilizes a random seal identity of different design. The AECL Random Coil (ARC) Seal combines the identity and integrity elements in the ultrasonic signature of a wire coil. Two variants of an optical seal have been developed which feature identity elements of crystalline zirconium and aluminum. The sealed cap-seal uses a conventional IAEA \"Type X Seal\" (wire seal). The essential features and relative merits of each seal design are described.