DOE SNF Packaging Demonstration Overview and 2022 Activities - 23162

This paper provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) Packaging Demonstration, as well as recent activities conducted for the project. The DOE SNF Packaging Demonstration represents an effort to develop and demonstrate the designs, technologies, processes, and regulatory framework for packaging DOE-managed SNF for road-ready dry storage (RRDS). The DOE SNF Packaging Demonstration is an extension of the work performed by the DOE National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program (NSNFP) throughout the 1990's and 2000's and is based around the use of a family of small-diameter multipurpose canisters, referred to as DOE Standard Canisters (DOESCs). DOESCs are to be used in conjunction with a commercial vendor over-canister (equivalent to the large-diameter commercial multipurpose canisters used for commercial power plant SNF) and a storage overpack. The DOESCs would allow DOE-managed SNF to be stored dry and, when transferred to a different overpack, transported to a storage or disposal facility (once one becomes available), without needing to handle the bare SNF. Recent activities of the DOE SNF Packaging Demonstration include an update of planned operations, updating and refining DOESC and basket designs, updating designs for remote equipment, and developing conceptual designs for tools and systems to interface with the equipment at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) facility, located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site. (authors)