Spent fuel transportation system limitations and opportunities

This paper presents an overview of spent fuel transportation in the United States from a current as well as historical perspective and discusses the planned activities in this area being developed under the sponsorship of the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM). The current transportation situation existing truck and rail size and weight limitations and current reactor interfaces with the transportation system are discussed, and summary of the projected shipment estimates for spent fuel is included. The sensitivity of shipment estimates to important transport parameters (such as individual cask capacity) and possible improvements and opportunities in transportation are presented. It reviews a variety of potential options for improving the safety and life cycle cost of future spent nuclear fuel shipments. Many of these options are being implemented or being evaluated for future implementation by participants in the Department of Energy's civilian waste transportation program. The options for improvements and opportunities are discussed in five categorical areas: (1) the cask and transporter hardware, (2) shipment operations, (3) the reactor interface, (4) the MRS/repository interface, and (5) safety verification methods. The ideas presented are a sampling and are not meant to be an exhaustive listing. 15 refs., 4 figs., 7 tabs