Spent nuclear fuel removal program at the West Valley Demonstration Project: Topical report

The spent nuclear fuel removal program at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) consisted of removing the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) assemblies from the storage pool in the plant, loading them in shielded casks, and preparing the casks for transportation. So far, four fuel removal campaigns have been completed with the return of 625 spent nuclear fuel assemblies to their four utility owners. A fifth campaign, which is not yet completed, will transfer the remaining 125 fuel assemblies to a government site in Idaho. A spent fuel rod consolidation demonstration has been completed, and the storage canisters and their racks are being removed from the fuel receiving and storage pool to make way for installation of the size reduction equipment. A brief history of the West Valley reprocessing plant and the events leading to the storage and ownership of the spent nuclear fuel assemblies and their subsequent removal from West Valley are also recorded as background information. 3 refs., 16 figs., 9 tabs.