Laying the Groundwork for a Large-Scale Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation System

Abstract

The US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy established the Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation Planning Project (NFST) to lay the groundwork for implementing interim storage of commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF), including associated transportation activities. Progress is being made on long lead time, destination-independent aspects of the SNF transportation system in three areas: • Institutional: stakeholder interactions needed for system success, including development of a transportation plan, policy development to implement Nuclear Waste Policy Act Section 180(c), and identification of a preliminary suite of national transportation routes based on regulatory requirements and coordination with stakeholders with diverse interests. • Operational: activities required to run a large-scale transportation system; focus is on development of a new routing analysis tool, study of infrastructure near storage sites that may be de-inventoried first, and development of tools for modeling transportation activities. • Hardware: casks, railcars, and other items necessary to operate the system. Activities are primarily focused on development of railcars compliant with Association of American Railroads Standard S-2043 and studies on the use of rail casks and their ancillary equipment. NFST is making significant progress in all of these areas for a future transportation system to transport SNF from commercial reactors.