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Solid Radioactive Waste Strategy Report.pdf - UK EPR

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<strong>EPR</strong> <strong>UK</strong><br />

N° NESH-G/2008/en/0123<br />

REV. A PAGE 135 / 257<br />

9.3.1.2 Overview of Spent Fuel Storage Technologies<br />

After the initial cooling phase an interim storage period is required before spent fuel can be<br />

disposed. This interim storage facility may be located on site as defined by the base case or off<br />

the reactor site, serving several nuclear power plants.<br />

The storage facility can involve either dry or wet technology, and will be designed to meet the<br />

following requirements:<br />

o<br />

o<br />

o<br />

o<br />

o<br />

To ensure safe operations (e.g. by preventing a criticality incident and maintaining<br />

effective containment);<br />

To provide radiological protection to public, workers and the environment at all<br />

times in compliance with dose limits and ensuring that all doses are As Low As<br />

Reasonably Practicable;<br />

To ensure thermal cooling to maintain spent fuel integrity;<br />

To facilitate fuel assembly monitoring and retrievability;<br />

To maintain spent fuel in a condition appropriate for final disposal.<br />

Five interim storage solutions (based on AREVA proven technologies) are discussed in detail<br />

below:<br />

· Underwater storage;<br />

· Dry storage in a metal flask;<br />

· Dry storage in concrete storage modules (e.g.Nuhoms);<br />

· Dry storage in TN NOVA (Nuhoms evolution);<br />

· Dry storage in a vault.<br />

Among these 5 options, one wet and two dry solutions have been identified and assessed for<br />

the <strong>UK</strong> <strong>EPR</strong>. They are described in chapter 13.<br />

9.3.1.2.1 Spent fuel Underwater Storage<br />

Underwater Spent Fuel Storage in GÖSGEN<br />

A further example of spent fuel storage in a pool is the GÖSGEN facility located on the<br />

GÖSGEN nuclear power plant in Switzerland.<br />

This Wet Spent Fuel Storage Facility can accommodate both uranium and MOX Fuel<br />

assemblies and is an independent extension of the existing spent fuel storage reactor pool.<br />

One of the main characteristics of this new storage facility is the almost exclusive use of passive<br />

cooling for the pool, based on natural air convection, which means that no active components<br />

are implemented (such as pumps).<br />

In its final configuration, the wet storage facility accommodates up to 1000 irradiated fuel<br />

assemblies stored in racks.<br />

The facility consists of the storage building, an adjacent service structure and two cooling<br />

towers. The storage building houses the fuel assemblies storage pool and the cask pool: it is a<br />

cubical, steel reinforced concrete structure of 17 m X 35 m X 25 m total height.

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