Current Approval Procedures for Type-8 Packages in Germany: Overview

This paper refers to papers presented at former PATRAM conferences (especiallythe paper of K. Wieser et al. 1989) and gives an overall view about Type Bpackage-related activities of BAM. which is the responsible testing authority inGermany for shipping casks used for the transport of radioactive material. Someselected topics which were of special interest from the point of view of BAM arediscussed in an additional paper presented at this conferece (Zeisler, P .• et al. 1995 ).The emphasis of the BAM Type B activities arose primarily from the necessity ofthe \"Entsorgung\" <disposal) of spent fuel elements from German nuclear powerstations <NPS). This required new designs of CASTOR type casks for specified fuelelements. For the final disposal of spent fuel elements the POLLUX cask has beendesigned that will also be used for the transport and interim storage of fuel elements.The reprocessing of fuel elements of German NPS in foreign reprocessingplants requires shipping casks for the transport of vitrified high-active waste filledinto small steel canisters to the German interim stores. The TS 28V and CASTOR20/28 CG casks have been developed for such shipments. Both packages have beenapproved this year.