Research Reactors Spent Fuel (RRSF) management: transportation and storage solutions

In many countries, Research Reactor (RR) operators are responsible for the safe and sustainable management of their Research Reactor Spent Fuel (RRSF) and associated radioactive waste.Depending on the strategy employed in the corresponding countries, these management activities may include storage, transportation, and preparation for final disposal of the RRSF or of the corresponding waste after reprocessing.Since the 1990’s, AREVA, and especially its transportation services subsidiary known as AREVA TN, has helped RR operators set up and implement their RRSF management strategies by providing atreactor-site, transportation, reprocessing, and storage products and services.This article will describe AREVA’s experience with RRSF management, with a special focus on our fleet of transportation casks and associated services (licensing, design, on site assistance,…).The objective of this paper is to provide RR operators with key drivers to integrate transportation and storage aspects into their RRSF management strategy selection.