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Used Fuel Projections and Considerations

Used Fuel Projections and Considerations. John Kessler Manager, Used Fuel and HLW Management Program, jkessler@epri.com Nuclear Infrastructure Council Sustainable Fuel Cycle Meeting 9 June 2010. Outline. Why we got to where we are Utility issues related to wet and dry storage

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Used Fuel Projections and Considerations

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  1. Used Fuel Projections and Considerations John KesslerManager, Used Fuel and HLW Management Program, jkessler@epri.com Nuclear Infrastructure Council Sustainable Fuel Cycle Meeting9 June 2010

  2. Outline • Why we got to where we are • Utility issues related to wet and dry storage • Commercial used fuel inventories: present and future projections • Extended storage R&D

  3. Back-end of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Original Plan (before ~ 1976) Re-fabricate/Recycle Nuclear Power Plant Geologic Repository Reprocessing Plant Vitrified Waste

  4. Key Developments in the 70’s in the U.S. • Sharp increase in reprocessing costs • India’s nuclear bomb test • US decision to forego reprocessing and Pu recycle Result: a “once-through” fuel cycle

  5. The Once-through Fuel Cycle Offsite Storage Dry InterimStorage 10 CFR 71 Used Fuel Transportation 10 CFR 72 10 CFR 60/63 10 CFR 50 Utility Licensees U.S. DOE ? Geologic Medium Wet Storage

  6. Current Situation • No disposal • No reprocessing • No fast reactors • Spent fuel pools are filling up • No centralized interim storage • Transportation not available for all used fuel types • Therefore, nowhere for fuel to go

  7. Industry Reaction to the Need for Prolonged On-Site Storage • Add more storage cells in the spent fuel pools (“reracking”) • Move used fuel from pools into dry storage • Extract more energy per assembly (higher “burnups”) • Attempt to build a centralized interim storage site • Work on regulatory permission to transport high burnup used fuel • Extend the life of existing dry storage systems • After January 31, 1998: damages lawsuits against DOE for failure to start picking up used fuel • Money coming from DOJ Judgment Fund

  8. Centralized Interim Storage Example (Private Fuel Storage Facility, Goshute Indian Reservation, State of Utah) • Developed by a utility consortium, 40,000 MTU capacity • 2005: NRC approval for construction, 40-year life • Artist’s conception of site below: A: rail line (52 km) B: cask transfer building C: concrete pads D: concrete cask production

  9. Used Fuel Wet and Dry Storage Technology is Mature (Used Fuel Pool with Dry Storage Cask:Surry - Final TN-32 Loading)

  10. On-Site Spent Fuel Dry Storage Systems

  11. Dry Storage Casks at Connecticut Yankee

  12. Surry ISFSI - Pad 1

  13. Surry ISFSI - Pad 2

  14. Surry ISFSI - Pad 3

  15. Transportation Systems

  16. Industry Trend from “Storage-Only” to “Dual Purpose Canisters” Dual Purpose: storage and transportation (requires two separate licenses) Multi-Purpose: storage, transportation, disposal (requires three licenses – none exist yet)

  17. Historical and Projected Used Fuel “Burnup” (megawatt-days per metric ton of uranium, MWD/MTU) “high” burnup No transportation licenses Burnup range from the 60s to the 80s

  18. Inventory of Used Nuclear Fuel is Measured Several Different Ways • Number of assemblies • More in a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) than a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) • Metric tons of uranium (MTU) • Similar MTUs in both BWRs and PWRs • Number of dry storage casks • Move to larger capacity casks (cheaper per assembly) • Dry storage: 7 (1980s) to >60 assemblies per cask today • Still transportable by rail

  19. Used Commercial Fuel Inventories (as of 12/31/09) • National totals: • Wet storage: 169,696 assemblies at >50 reactor sites • Dry storage: 1,232 casks, 51,585 assemblies in 32 states • Top six states (casks/assemblies in dry storage) • Illinois • Pennsylvania • South Carolina • Virginia • Georgia • California Data courtesy of ACI Nuclear Energy Solutions

  20. By 2055: >485,000 assemblies (per ACI Nuclear Energy Solutions)

  21. ISFSI: Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation

  22. Potential Additional Used Fuel in a “Renaissance” Current Yucca Mountain legal limit (63,000 MTU)

  23. Yucca Mountain Technical Capacity is Much Higher Than the Legal Limit EPRI’s projected technical capacity range (~260,000-570,000 MTU, 4 to 9 times current legal limit) Current legal limit (63,000 MTU)

  24. Newest Storage Project: Extended Storage • “Extended”: >>60 years • Initial dry storage license periods: 20 years • Was supposed to be long enough • Existing EPRI work leads to licenses extended to 60 years • But: • Cancellation of Yucca Mountain? • New disposal program could take decades • New plants’ contracts with DOE: start taking spent fuel 20 years after plant shutdown • means 80 to 100+ years • Extended storage is not just a US problem

  25. Functions of a Dry Cask Storage System that Must be Maintained • NUREG-1536 (NRC, 1997) identifies the functions important to safety that the dry cask systems must maintain: • thermal performance • radiological protection • confinement • sub-criticality • retrievability • Can the existing and future dry cask systems maintain these functions for decades to come?

  26. Temperature-related Dry Storage System Degradation Mechanisms • Fuel cladding creep caused by increased cladding ductility and increased stress • Due to higher temperatures causing higher pressures inside the cladding • Hydride reorientation in the spent fuel cladding • Corrosion • Degradation of neutron shielding • Concrete dry-out and cracking

  27. Changes as the System gets Older and Cooler • Mostly good things • Reduced metal creep rates • Reduced corrosion rates • Reduced gamma and neutron radiation • Potential negatives (mostly related to cladding) • Additional hydride precipitation • Decreased cladding ductility • Potentially more susceptible to breakage during storage and transportation

  28. Aging Management Options • “Initial” activities • Additional analyses of degradation mechanisms for longer periods • Enhanced monitoring and inspection • “Eventually” (more costly, higher worker dose) • Canning • Repackaging • Over-packaging • When is “eventually”?

  29. EPRI Initiated a Joint Effort in a November 2009 Workshop • Attendees: • EPRI • NRC: SFST, RES, NRR • DOE: NE, EM, RW • Utilities • Storage system vendors • NEI • NWTRB • Title: Extended Storage Collaboration Program • EPRI will be lead organization • US and international participation

  30. Purpose of the Program • Evaluate what we already know • Existing analyses: how far out in time? • Existing data • Existing operational issues (e.g., loading, monitoring, testing) • Identify the open items for even longer storage (gap analysis) • Suggestions for what needs to be done (and how, if possible) • Form a standing group to continue pursuing additional, appropriate R&D

  31. Conclusion: Industry Will do What is Necessary to Keep Plants Running • Continue cranking out dry storage systems as a stop-gap measure • Industry has not (yet) been successful completing a centralized storage facility • Will get harder and harder to continue adding to the on-site storage inventory • Space, dose, public concern limitations • Shutdown plants: all that is left is the fuel • Ensure wet and dry storage systems maintain their safety functions • Without an active disposal program, it becomes more difficult to address the “what about the waste?” concern

  32. Together…Shaping the Future of Electricity

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