Interfaces of Spent Fuel Management in Spain: A Regulatory Perspective. Annex XII

The interim storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is currently the keynote of the national waste strategy in Spain. Since pool capacity is being reached in operating plants and to proceed dismantling in those that have been definitely shutdown, there is a growing need for dry storage facilities. The national radioactive waste policy endorsed by the Government, through the 'General Radioactive Waste Plan' (GRWP), establishes the construction of a centralized storage facility to host the spent fuel from all the power plants and some vitrified high level waste reprocessed in France that will be returned to Spain. This storage installation is expected to be operating for a period of 50 years when the geological repository should be available. A consultation and information process remains open for potentially interested communities to host the facility; subsequently the government will decide the final site of the project. As shown, the main steps of the spent fuel management comprises transfer to dry storage facilities, storage, transportation of SNF to the CSF and eventually transportation to the disposal repository. Largely all the nuclear material, except a minor amount of vitrified wastes, will be spent fuel assemblies and some non-fuel hardware (NFH); including rod cluster control assemblies, thimble plug devices and neutron sources hardware. From a regulatory standpoint it is essential to have in mind the whole picture since every step has a major influence on the next. For that reason requirements that must be met in the future must be analyzed as early as possible to impose if needed further actions and to acknowledge the burden or limitations that may have an impact on safety. In every step there are also several actors playing a role in the scene and their responsibilities and interactions must be clearly set. Thus in Spain the national radioactive waste management Agency (ENRESA) is the license holder of shipping and storage cask which in turn are used by nuclear facility operator at a site. ENRESA is also responsible for the transportation of SNF and HLW