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Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

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Draft p. 3.1.85<br />

Issue<br />

158<br />

WASTE MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS<br />

The draft Statement is inconsistent in saying one place that spent fuel assemblies can<br />

be stored dry in the unpackaged condition, but saying in a second place that dry storage <strong>of</strong><br />

unpackaged fuel is not feasible. (181)<br />

Response<br />

The draft Statement is not inconsistent in this instance; rather, it contains a dis-<br />

tinction that apparently was missed by the reviewer. In the one place, DOE said that spent<br />

fuel assemblies can be stored in the unpackaged condition in forced-draft air-cooled<br />

vaults. In the second place we said that natural-draft air-cooled vault storage was not<br />

feasible for unpackaged fuel. The distinction is drawn because <strong>of</strong> the belief <strong>of</strong> DOE that<br />

the effluent air from an unpackaged fuel storage facility should be filtered before it is<br />

released to the atmosphere. The pressure drop attending the use <strong>of</strong> appropriate filters does<br />

not allow natural-draft cooling to be employed. In the interest <strong>of</strong> brevity, this distinc-<br />

tion was not detailed in the draft Statement.<br />

Draft p. 3.1.85<br />

Issue<br />

Interim storage <strong>of</strong> packaged spent fuel will increase the danger <strong>of</strong> leaking. Note the<br />

"leak after leak at Hanford, West Valley, Savannah." (30)<br />

Response<br />

DOE feels confident that packaged spent fuel storage facilities can be operated with<br />

negligible release <strong>of</strong> radionuclides to the environment. It should be noted that these sites<br />

have experienced some leaks from liquid waste storage tanks, not from packaged spent fuel<br />

storage facilities (which have not been employed at these sites).<br />

Draft p. 3.1.92<br />

Issue<br />

Use <strong>of</strong> "refrigerated air" to cool Kr-storage cylinders implies installation <strong>of</strong> a<br />

refrigeration system which is, based on the low heat load from the cylinders, both unneces-<br />

sary and impractical. (181)<br />

Response<br />

The Kr-storage cylinders each have an initial heat generation rate <strong>of</strong> 150 W. In the<br />

storage concept considered here, 104 cylinders are contained in a storage cell and

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