Current interim used fuel storage practice in Canada

Canada has at present 20 operational power reactors of > 500 MW(e) capacity and two more will be on-line in the next few years. Some of these reactors have been in service since the early 1970`s. All are of the CANDU design, using natural UO{sub 2} fuel. As of December 31, 1992, Canada had about 16,400 tons U as used fuel in interim wet storage and about 730 tons U as used fuel in dry storage. Since used fuel disposal is not likely to start until 2025, or even later, interim storage will continue to be the main fuel management option in Canada for several decades. During interim storage of used fuel, it is essential that the used fuel retains its integrity, to ensure that (a) radiological health hazards remain minimal, and (b) the fuel is retrievable for downstream fuel management processes. This paper describes the present practice for used fuel wet and dry storage in Canada. Also described are (a) the storage facility regulatory framework, (b) the characteristics of used fuel, (c) storage facility design considerations, (d) the predicted long-term integrity of stored used fuel, based on results from a joint Ontario Hydro-AECL program initiated in 1977 to investigatemore » the integrity of used fuel in wet and dry storage, and (e) the safety of used fuel storage.« less