ML023400180
| ML023400180 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Millstone  (DPR-065, NPF-049) |
| Issue date: | 12/05/2002 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs Region I |
| To: | |
| References | |
| Press Release-I-02-069 | |
| Download: ML023400180 (1) | |
Text
NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION I 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 No. I-02-069 December 5, 2002 CONTACT:
Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov Neil A. Sheehan, (610) 337-5331 NRC, DOMINION TO DISCUSS SPENT FUEL STORAGE PLANS FOR MILLSTONE PLANTS Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., on Thursday, December 12, to discuss the companys plans to use dry cask storage for spent fuel at the companys Millstone 2 and 3 nuclear power plants. The Millstone units, along with the permanently shutdown Millstone 1 reactor, are located in Waterford, Conn.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Region I office, 475 Allendale Road in King of Prussia, Pa. The public is invited to observe and will have one or more opportunities to offer comments and/or ask questions of the NRC staff before the session is adjourned.
At present, U.S. nuclear power plants have two options for the storage of spent nuclear fuel, that is, fuel that has already been used in a reactor. A plant can either store fuel rods in a circulating-water spent fuel pool or in a dry cask storage facility. Under the latter option, fuel is removed from the pool after a sufficient period of time has elapsed and placed inside stainless-steel casks. Those casks are then sealed, filled with an inert gas and transported to an outdoor concrete pad, where they are placed inside specially designed vaults made of steel-reinforced concrete. Convective air flow through vents at the top and bottom of the vaults helps ensure that the fuel remains properly cooled.
Dry cask storage facilities are currently in use at nearly two dozen plant sites across the U.S.