International status of the dual purpose cask designed for both transport and storage of spent fuel

With the development of nuclear power reactors, the volume of spent fuel discharged from reactors which needs to be stored is growing. As the result of delays in decisions on spent fuel disposition, the volume of spent fuel discharged from reactors in an increasing number of cases, exceeding the spent fuel pool capacities in China. Additional storage capacity is needed. Options for additional storage include wet storage in some form of storage pool or dry storage in a facility or storage casks built for this purpose. One of these options is the use of the dual purpose cask designed for both transport and storage. These dual purpose casks are an attractive option because of their flexibility and economy efficiency. However, there are some issues need to be discussed and there are separate regulations that need to be complied with for both transport and storage for the dual purpose cask. This paper reviews the international status of the dual purpose cask designed for both transport and storage of spent fuel. Some dual-purpose cask safety related issues, such as supervision, dual-purpose cask safety design features, dual-purpose cask safety research and testing, are reviewed. These experiences from international different nuclear power plants can provides a reference for the development of dual-purpose casks in China.