THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PACKAGE FOR THE TRANSPORT OF MIXED OXIDE (MOX) FUEL IN EUROPE

BNFL are developing a new package for the transport ofMOX fuels to European LWR utilities. This package is to comply with the 1996 edition of the lAEA Transport Regulations these having, in some respects, more stringent requirements than the 1985 edition. The capability to deliver fuel to all utilities has been one of the prime functional objectives and has led to a package design capable of delivering a wide range ofPWR and BWR MOX fuel assembly types. In order to achieve this, the package design incorporates a flexible operational system that ensures the MOX fuel may be unloaded at utilities with minimal plant modifications being required. MOX fuels with heat outputs and gamma/neutron radiation emissions not experienced with new U02 fuels may be transported and operated with minimum dose uptake to personnel due to the shielded module design. Where required, a utility may retain the module to provide radiological protection to operators until the fuel assembly is loaded into the reactor. This paper gives details ofthe functional specification of the package, its development and outlines the resulting design.