Transporting Existing VSC-24 Canisters Using a Risk-Based Licensing Approach

The VSC-24 Ventilated Storage Cask System is a canister-based dry cask storage system that is designed and licensed to provide safe storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) assemblies in accordance with Title 10 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations Part 72 (10CFR72). A brief description of the VSC-24 Multi-Assembly Sealed Basket (MSB), the canister for the VSC-24 System, is provided in Section 2. The VSC-24 storage system has been implemented at three different nuclear plants in the United States: Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO), Palisades, and Point Beach nuclear plants. There are 58 VSC-24 casks loaded at these three sites. Currently there are no plans to deliver or load any additional MSBs at any sites in the United States. Eventually, the existing loaded MSBs will either have to be transported intact to a long-term storage facility or repository or opened at the plant to repackage the SNF assemblies for transportation. Transporting intact MSBs has clear economic and ALARA benefits, but poses some technical and regulatory challenges. BNFL Fuel Solutions (BFS) is exploring the possibility of obtaining U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval to transport the existing loaded MSBs using the NRC-certified FuelSolutions™ TS125 transportation cask.