Dry storage and transportation of failed fuel

US commercial nuclear power generating facilities currently store discharged nuclear fuel in pools located at the utility site. This inventory includes both normal fuel and open-quotes failed fuelclose quotes which has been damaged or is in some way irregular. Since there is a growing need for onsite dry storage and offshore shipping of discharged nuclear fuel, a need has also arisen for containers capable of handling this failed fuel safely and economically. Sacramento Municipal Utility District's (SMUD's) Rancho Seco plant, which was shut down in 1990, is the first utility to plan a comprehensive program to dry store, and eventually ship offsite, failed fuel assemblies. The design of these special canisters is presented along with a description of their use and ultimate shipment to the repository or Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility (MRS)