The Ontario Hydro Dry Irradiated Fuel Storage Program and Concrete Integrated Container Demonstration

For the first time anywhere the practicality of loading irradiated fuel into a concrete cask underwater in an existing pool facility has been successfully demonstrated. The cask holds about 7.7 metric-tons-uranium. Special design features allow the cask to be used for dry storage, for transportation, and for disposal without re-handling the fuel. The cask, called the Concrete Integrated Container, or CIC, has been developed by Ontario Hydro. These notes accompanied a talk describing the loading, monitoring, and IAEA-based transportation certification of testing of the CIC. The talk was given at the INMM Spent Fuel Management Seminar VII in Washington, D.C. Ontario Hydro now has a pool storage capacity of close to 32,000 metric-tons-uranium. The need for storage will more than double before 2025, the year a repository is expected to open in Canada. Some of the new capacity will be in CIC-style dry storage.