WASTE MANAGEMENT | INTERIM HIGH LEVEL STORAGE
Holtec gets NRC go-ahead for US used nuclear fuel store
A consolidated interim used fuel storage facility in New Mexico has received the go- ahead for US regulators the NRC. Aggregating the used fuel from all 75 US sites means more nuclear transports but offers a number of advantages over the current solution.
HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL HAS RECEIVED THE FINAL LICENCE from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for construction and operation of a waste storage facility in Lea County, southeast New Mexico. The site will temporarily store nuclear waste from nuclear power plants across the USA. The HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) will be built on land provided by the Eddy Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA), a regional economic development authority. Holtec said this was “the culmination of an eight-year process” for an “inherently safe below-ground storage system called the HI-STORM UMAX”. According to Holtec, southeastern New Mexico is the ideal location for the CISF, which will be located on a small and isolated portion of a thousand acres of undeveloped ELEA land that is geologically stable, with a dry and arid climate that is ideal for the underground dry fuel storage system. Aggregating the used fuel from all 75 sites at a consolidated facility would make the task of securing them from known and unknown threats much easier, Holtec says, adding that storing the canisters in a canister- friendly climate such as New Mexico’s will remove their vulnerability to salt air corrosion saving the economy hundreds of millions of dollars in averted aging management costs and remedial programmes. NRC said the licence “authorises the company to
Right: Holtec plans to eventually store up to 10,000 canisters at the CISF in an additional 19 phases
receive, possess, transfer and store 500 canisters holding approximately 8,680 metric tons of commercial spent nuclear fuel for 40 years”. Holtec plans to eventually store up to 10,000 canisters in an additional 19 phases. NRC said each expansion phase would require a licence amendment with additional NRC safety and environmental reviews. The used fuel “must be stored in canisters and cask systems certified by the NRC as meeting standards for protection against leakage, radiation dose rates, and criticality under normal and accident conditions”. NRC specified that the canisters are required to be sealed prior to arrival at the facility. “They will be inspected upon arrival and will remain sealed during onsite handling and storage activities.” Used nuclear fuel will arrive at the CISF by rail in
transport casks and using specialty-designed railcars. Three NRC-licenced transportation casks designed by Holtec – HI-STAR 190, HI-STAR 100 and HI-STAR 100MB ¬– may be used to move used nuclear fuel from the reactor sites to the CISF. Holtec said the HI-STORE facility is the first in the world
to deploy a below-ground storage system for consolidated interim storage. “We thank the nuclear-savvy communities of the Southeast New Mexico region and their visionary leaders who have welcomed us to bring our technologies to
14 | June 2023 |
www.neimagazine.com
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