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Rail Transportation Casks

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Testing of Transportation Casks

To be certified, transportation casks must demonstrate that they must remain airtight following

– A 30-foot drop onto an unyielding surface

– A 40-inch drop onto a 6-inch diameter steel rod

– Exposure to a 1000 ºC fire for 30 minutes

– Immersion in 3 feet of water

Additional, more severe, testing has been done

– Crash of a flatbed truck loaded with a cask into a 700-ton concrete wall at 80 mph

– Broadside crash of a 120-ton locomotive traveling at 80 mph

– Crash of a locomotive at 100 mph (U.K.)

– Drop onto hard soil (similar to concrete) from a height of 2,000 feet

– Fire and explosion involving fuel tanks (Germany)

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Fire and Explosion Testing

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Repository Design Concept

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Yucca Mountain Surface Facility Portals

North PortalNorth Portal

South PortalSouth Portal

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Surface (Preclosure) Facility Design

Surface facility design provides maximum flexibility in the development of a simple, clean, safe, primarily canister-based repository

– Based on the use of modular waste handling facilities and processes – expansion as needed

– Incorporates commercial waste handling experience

– Can receive by truck and standard rail

– Can handle multiple forms of wastes

– Can accommodate multiple sizes of transportation, aging and disposal (TAD) canisters

TAD canisters containing the spent fuel are loaded into the transportation casks

TAD canisters would require less handling than individual spent nuclear fuel assemblies at the repository

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Aboveground Preclosure Facilities

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Preparing Waste for Emplacement

Cask enters the facility, impact limiters and lid are removed, and the cask is raised upright by crane

Cask loaded onto a cask transfer trolley and moved to the shielded transfer cell

Another crane lifts the TAD canister out and raises it into a shielded bell

Shielded bell moves to the canister to another transfer cell

Canister is lowered by crane into the waste package

– Waste package is what the canister is stored in when emplaced in the mountain

Waste package is transferred to the Transport and Emplacement Vehicle (TEV)

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Transfer of Canister to Waste Package

casktransfer.wmv

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Transfer of the Waste Package to the TEV

WPtransfertoTEV.wmv

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Emplacement Operations

TEV moves waste package from the surface facility into the mountain

– Emplacement tunnel is selected beforehand to limit the total decay heat generated in the tunnel

– Tunnel decay heat loading is tracked continuously

TEV deposits the waste package once it has arrived at its final destination

TEV returns to the surface

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Emplacement Operations

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Safety of Preclosure Operations

Preclosure operations include all preparation and emplacement activities

– Expected to last 50 years (until all tunnels are filled)

Safety features

– Robust construction (3 to 4-foot thick reinforced concrete walls) can withstand the most severe postulated earthquake

– Filtered ventilation system to prevent release to environment in the event of an accident

– Automatic fire suppression system

– Remote operations to limit need for human action

– Extensive shielding provided when human involvement is anticipated

Safety analyses show that potential public and worker radiation exposure from preclosure operations is well below NRC safety limits

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Postclosure

Postclosure begins when the repository has been fully loaded and sealed for long-term storage

Storage is in 42-miles of 18-foot diameter tunnels

Parallel tunnels located 250 feet apart

Tunnels are 1,000 feet below the surface and 1,000 feet above the water table

Natural and manmade features ensure safety and environmental protection during storage

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Underground Storage of Waste

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Natural and Manmade Safety Features

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Total System Performance Assessment

TSPA is a computer tool that analyzes performance of the repository following closure

Includes computer models for all phenomena that could lead to a release of radionuclides

– Based on accepted chemical and physical principles

– Benchmarked against data collected during site assessment

TSPA is used to evaluate repository performance over hundreds of thousands of years

Because the period of interest is so long, extremely rare events must be analyzed

– Severe earthquakes, volcanic activity, meteor strikes, etc.

TSPA results show human exposures or ground water contamination at least a factor of 10 smaller than safety standards

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Concept for a Warning Monument and Information Center

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Status and Future of the Project

License application for the Yucca Mountain repository submitted to the NRC on June 2nd

NRC has 3 years to complete their evaluation and decide whether to issue a construction permit

Government funding levels will be an important factor in determining when the repository opens

– Most optimistic estimate is 2017 for receipt of first waste

Politics will play a key role

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Politics of the Yucca Mountain Project

NIMBY – Not in my backyard

– States with stored nuclear waste want it disposed of

– Nevada objects to being the nuclear “dump”

– Some have concerns over waste transport

People are reluctant to believe the government regardless of the scientific support

Politicians tend to play on these emotions

– Nowhere is this more evident than in Nevada

– A “battleground” state

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Cartoons Illustrating Political and Legal Obstacles

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Cartoons Illustrating Safety Concerns

Cartoonists play on emotions• No need to be scientifically

accurate• Probably very effective with

the average person

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Where do the candidates stand?

Obama expressed his opinion in a letter to Senators Reid and Boxer

– Nuclear power remains an important source of energy

– Objected to Congress abandoning scientific consideration of alternatives and selecting Yucca Mountain

– Indicated that Yucca Mountain is not a good choice

Nevadans oppose Yucca Mountain

Won’t be operated for at least 10 more years

Uncertain safety of transport and long-term storage

– Time to abandon Yucca Mountain and pursue alternatives

Selection based on sound science and respect for state’s sovereignty

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Where do the candidates stand?

McCain’s opinion has been expressed in interviews over the years

– Nuclear power is an important source of energy for our future and more reactors are needed

– Supports Yucca Mountain as the best alternative for long-term storage

– Yucca Mountain should be built if it meets all Federal requirements for protecting human health and the environment

– Not a problem of technology but political will

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Questions?