Safety investigation of a spent fuel pool for installation of high capacity fuel racks

Delays in the development of spent fuel reprocessing facilities in the USA have caused certain commercial nuclear powered generating plants to increase spent fuel storage capacity. Low density racks have been replaced with high density racks or poison racks. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recently issued guidelines for the reevaluation of on-site storage facilities for installation of high capacity fuel racks. Fuel handling and storage facilities are designed to proviede shielding for radioactivity releases from the fuel, protect the fuel from mechanical damage from dropping of objects onto fuel assemblies, prevent loss of water from the fuel pool that would uncover fuel and to maintain fuel assemblies in a safe position. This paper addresses the evaluation of the structural integrity of the reinforced concrete spent fuel pool for increased loading under normal operating and accident conditions. (orig.)