Damaged Spent Nuclear Fuel at U.S. DOE Facilities Experience and Lessons Learned

Carlsen, Brett W. ; Woolstenhulme, Eric ; McCormack, Roger

Idaho National Laboratory

关键词: Storage;    Meat;    Waste Storage;    11 - Nuclear Fuel Cycle And Fuel Materials , 12 - Mgmt Of Radioactive And Non-Radioactive Wastes From Nuclear Facilities;    Functionals;   

DOI  :  10.2172/911592
RP-ID  :  INL/EXT-05-00760
RP-ID  :  DE-AC07-99ID-13727
RP-ID  :  911592

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

From a handling perspective, any spent nuclear fuel (SNF) that has lost its original technical and functional design capabilities with regard to handling and confinement can be considered as damaged. Some SNF was damaged as a result of experimental activities and destructive examinations; incidents during packaging, handling, and transportation; or degradation that has occurred during storage. Some SNF was mechanically destroyed to protect proprietary SNF designs. Examples of damage to the SNF include failed cladding, failed fuel meat, sectioned test specimens, partially reprocessed SNFs, over-heated elements, dismantled assemblies, and assemblies with lifting fixtures removed. In spite of the challenges involved with handling and storage of damaged SNF, the SNF has been safely handled and stored for many years at DOE storage facilities. This report summarizes a variety of challenges encountered at DOE facilities during interim storage and handling operations along with strategies and solutions that are planned or were implemented to ameliorate those challenges. A discussion of proposed paths forward for moving damaged and nondamaged SNF from interim storage to final disposition in the geologic repository is also presented.