Status of DOE MPC Implementation Program

In mid-1992, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) initiated a study to determine the potential costs and benefits of incorporating into the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System a multipurpose canister (MPC) concept. The Edison Electric Institute and other utility industry organizations had earlier identified possible benefits of such a concept. As originally envisioned by OCRWM, the MPC would be a relatively thin-walled metal canister designed to hold multiple fuel assemblies, on the order of 20 pressurized water reactor or 40 boiling water reactor assemblies. After being placed in a shielded transfer cask, the MPC would be loaded with fuel, removed from the pool and dried, welded shut, and inerted. The MPC could then be inserted into appropriate over-packs for storage, transportation, and, eventually, disposal. Thus, the MPC concept appeared to offer the potential to reduce the number of times individual spent-fuel assemblies would have to be handled. This fact, in turn, suggested other benefits to the overall spent-fuel management system