A light water reactor spent fuel receiving and storage facility under construction in China

The paper describes the design and construction status of the first receiving and storage facility for LWR spent fuel in China. This facility is under construction and will service the reprocessing plant. The facility's technical and safety features are also described in detail. According to the general nuclear facility plan, this installation must go into operation before July 1997. The wet storage method, which technically is more mature internationally, will be adopted. The storage capacity is 1000 t U. It will receive the spent fuel assemblies discharged from the Daya Bay and Qinshan nuclear power plants. The design and critical analyses of safety are based on the parameters of the Daya Bay nuclear fuel. Ground was broken formally in April 1994 and this facility is now at the base digging stage. After the project is completed, it is expected to serve for 40 years. (author). 1 fig