A NEW WAY FOR THE DUAL PURPOSE CASK TN™24: A GLOBAL SOLUTION OFFER

For more than 20 years now, TN International (AREVA group) has proposed the TN™24 family of metallic casks for both the transport and storage of used fuel elements. For instance since 1996, more than 50 TN24 casks have been delivered to the Doel storage facility in Belgium. Today the main issue for some customers is the return of the compacted nuclear wastes induced by the reprocessing of used fuel performed by AREVA NC at La Hague facility. To perform such transportations, some specific packaging may have to be designed. But, as an alternative to the design and the manufacture of new casks, the existing dual purpose casks may be adapted to new contents. Therefore TN International has decided to investigate the possibility of using TN24 casks for the transportation of compacted wastes. After technical analyses it appears that the TN24DH, one of the 5 cask versions in operation at Doel storage facility, could be compliant with the characteristics of the compacted wastes. The originality of the proposed solution is not only to allow a new content to be transported by the TN24DH but also to propose a global solution to the customer: these casks will be used first for the transport of compacted wastes, and in a couple of years, will be used for their primary purposes, i.e. the transport and storage of used fuel elements coming from Doel NPP. The purpose of this paper is to present our experience, to describe the way to manage this kind of project and furthermore to underline the main advantages of the TN24 dual purpose transport cask for customer. Hence this paper focuses on the following topics: - A technical solution for the return of the compacted wastes, - A solution in line with the sustainable development, reduction of final wastes, - An economical solution in terms of manufacturing, licensing - A dedicated project organisation for a global solution management.