20 Jun (NucNet): The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released final
performance requirements for the transportation, aging and disposal
(TAD) canisters for disposal of spent nuclear fuel at the proposed deep
geological repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
In a statement yesterday the DOE said the new canister requirements will minimise the need for repetitive handling of spent nuclear fuel by using the same canister from the time it leaves a nuclear power plant to its placement in a waste disposal package at Yucca Mountain.
The DOE said it will soon begin procurement for the development of final TAD canister and cask designs. It also plans to enter into discussions with nuclear utilities to amend their disposal contracts with the DOE to facilitate the use of TAD canisters.
The DOE anticipates that TAD canisters will be available for commercial use as early as 2011 and expects that up to 90 percent of commercial spent nuclear fuel could be placed in TAD canisters, resulting in the need for about 7,500 TAD canisters for the proposed repository.
The TAD-based approach, announced in October 2005, eliminates the need for the construction of several multi-billion dollar facilities for handling spent fuel at Yucca Mountain.
Edward Sproat, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) said yesterday's announcement was "one more step in moving the Yucca Mountain project forward to submit the licence application".
The DOE began studying Yucca Mountain in 1978 to determine whether it would be a suitable repository site.
Last year the department said it would submit a licence application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the proposed repository no later than the end of June 2008.
The final TAD requirements are in a 337-page document on the OCRWM website (www.ocrwm.doe.gov) under "What's New".
Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
US DOE Announces Plans For 'Simpler, Safer' Yucca Mountain (News No. 164, 26 October 2005)
Industry Welcomes Yucca Mountain Canister Proposal (News No. 165, 27 October 2005)
DOE To Submit Yucca Licence Application 'No Later Than End Of June 2008' (News No. 159, 20 July 2006)
The NucNet database currently contains more than 12,000 reports published since 1991. To subscribe or ask for any further information email
