ML13316C472

Palisades Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) at Nuclear Power Plants

ML13316C472
Person / Time
Site:	Palisades
Issue date:	11/14/2013
From:	Boland A NRC/RGN-III
To:
References
Download: ML13316C472 (19)

Text

NRC Public Webinar Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) at Nuclear Power Plants November 14, 2013 1

Welcome Anne Boland Acting Deputy Regional Administrator NRC RRegion i III 2

Introductions - NRC

• Jack Giessner, Acting Deputy Division Director, Division of Reactor Safety Safety, RIII

• Jamie Benjamin, Acting Chief, Branch 4, RIII

• Matthew Learn, Reactor Engineer, Division of N l Nuclear M Materials t i l S Safety, f t RIII (Presenter)

(P t )

• Robert Orlikowski Orlikowski, Chief Chief, Materials Control Control, ISFSI and Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, RIII 3

Meeting g Agenda g

• Overview of an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI)

• ISFSI Safety

• Future Communications - Palisades Specific

• Question and Answer (Q&A) Session

• Closing Remarks 4

Overview - First S

Some Background B k d

• US nuclear reactors use uranium enriched fuel assemblies to produce the heat necessary to make electrical power

• Approximately every 18 - 24 months, roughly 1/3rd of the nuclear fuel assemblies are replaced

• The fuel removed from the reactor is called spent fuel and is required to be cooled after the reactor is shutdown because it still generates heat (called decay heat) 5

Decay Heat

• Fuel assemblies continue to produce heat after shutdown

• This heat is called decay heat

• Decay heat is a very small fraction of the heat produced when compared p p to the total heat produced by an operating reactor

• Decay heat gets smaller over time 6

Why y ISFSI?

• Methods M th d tto safely f l store t spentt nuclear l fuel f l include:

i l d

- Spent fuel pool

- Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (commonly called an ISFSI)

• Both methods are strictly regulated to ensure safety

• As a facility runs out of room in their spent fuel pool, the fuel is moved to an NRC licensed ISFSI 7

Picture of a Typical Spent Fuel P l Pool 8

What is an ISFSI?

9

ISFSI Pad 10

Dry y Cask

• Spent fuel f el assemblies are stored in a sealed metal canister

• Passively air cooled

• Surrounded by a concrete wall 11

Location of ISFSIs 12

ISFSI Safety y

• An ISFSI requires an NRC approved license to operate

• NRC regulations establish the acceptable design, operational, ti l and d security it requirements i t th thatt an ISFSI must meet in order to ensure safety

• Each cask design is licensed and approved for use by the NRC

• NRC conducts inspections p during g a facilitys y dryy run and initial loading campaigns 13

ISFSI Safety Design Requirements

• Casks and concrete pads are designed to rigorous safety f t and d very high hi h quality lit standards t d d

• Spent fuel in casks is cooled by air without relying on electrical power (i.e. passive cooling)

• Casks are designed to ensure that the spent fuel always remains shutdown (subcritical)

• Casks and concrete pads are designed to withstand natural events such as tornados, earthquakes, flooding, fires, etc.

14

NRC Inspection & Oversight

• Inspections during pad construction, dry runs and initial loading of casks

• Periodic inspections by ISFSI experts

• Inspections of vendors design and fabrication p og a s programs

• Day-to-day Day to day oversight through NRC Resident Inspectors 15

Future NRC Communications for Palisades

• Licensee performance has improved

• Communications commensurate with NRC processes and significance

• Public meetings 16

Questions?

17

Meeting g Closure Anne B A Boland l d Acting Deputy Regional Administrator NRC Region R i III 18

Meeting Contacts For Follow-up Questions - Contact the NRC Region III Office of Public Affairs:

Viktoria Mitlyng / Prema Chandrathil Tel: (630) 829-9500 OPA3@nrc.gov 19