APPLICATION OF THE NEW FLASK TYPE CASTOR® HAW28M FOR THE RETURN OF VITRIFIED RESIDUES FROM SELLAFIELD, UK TO CONTINENTAL EUROPE

Highly Active Waste (HAW) in the form of Vitrified Residue (VR) has arisen from the reprocessing of overseas spent fuel at the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) at Sellafield. The VR product is contained within engineered canisters which must be loaded into a flask to enable their return to overseas customers. The new CASTOR® HAW28M flask will be used for VR returns to continental Europe. On the technical basis, GNS Gesellschaft für Nuklear Service mbH (GNS), International Nuclear Services Ltd (INS) and Sellafield Ltd (SL) are working together to ensure a smooth integration of this flask into the overall VR return system. For example, 21 flasks of this type will have to be returned to the German interim storage facility at Gorleben. When the project for the integration of the new flask type started its design phase, meetings between the above mentioned companies have taken place continuously to discuss the requirements and boundary conditions for specific equipment and reconstruction of the relevant Sellafield site and port facilities to support handling and transport of the CASTOR® HAW28M flasks. Empty and loaded flasks will have to be shipped by sea between the UK and continental Europe. The first empty flask shipment is scheduled as a one-off transport in 2012 to accommodate the necessary commissioning of the flask in the Residue Export Facility (REF) and subsequent cold trials. This transport will also support the cold trial of the transport route and transfer at transhipment locations. Flasks arriving at Sellafield site are transferred via the Flask Marshalling and Storage Area to the REF where they are prepared for loading with VR canisters. The flasks are then sealed, checked and interim stored before being transported by rail from Sellafield to the port of Barrow. Here they are transferred safely onto a specialist ship in readiness for transport. This paper will detail the application of the new flask and cover how the new and unique challenges from design and manufacture stages of transport and handling equipment through to the flask interface with Sellafield site and existing transport infrastructure.