By Patricia Daddona
Published on 9/17/2009
The federal regulator of nuclear power has proposed allowing the renewal of licenses for dry cask storage of spent fuel to be extended from 20 years to 40 years.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's proposed rule change would also allow new dry cask storage facilities to be licensed for 40 years. It would likewise allow the casks that contain the spent fuel to be approved for certificates of compliance for up to 40 years.
The proposed rule changes were published Tuesday in the Federal Register. The NRC is accepting public comment for the next 74 days.
The current duration of the licenses and certificates of compliance are for up to 20 years. Reactor owners seeking lengthier licenses must get an exemption under the existing rules.
At the Millstone Power Station in Waterford, 19 bunkers are in place and 11 of them house casks containing older spent fuel, said Jim Norvelle, a spokesman for Dominion, the owner of the nuclear power complex. The fuel has been moved there from a spent fuel pool at the Unit 2 reactor, which was running out of room.
The company holds a 20-year license for the storage facility, which was first loaded with fuel in early 2005, as well as 20-year certificates of compliance for each of the individual casks loaded into bunkers.
Dominion has permission from the state to build up to 49 bunkers at the site, but could need 86 more to contain all the nuclear waste generated through the extended life of the reactors - through 2035 and 2045 for Units 2 and 3, respectively.
When seeking license renewal for a facility or for individual dry casks, the NRC would also require reactor owners to provide time-limited aging analyses and description of an aging-management program to ensure that storage casks will perform as designed under the extended renewal terms.
Mail comments to Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff; or e-mail them to Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov.
p.daddona@theday.com
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=48391780-5131-4de4-8551-184678b2efe6
Thursday, September 17, 2009
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