Problems with Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel: Comment Deadline July 30th, 11:59 pm

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AREVA, California, cancer, CASTOR, Chernobyl, clean water, corruption, dangers of nuclear, Diablo Canyon, environment, France, Germany, Holtec, nuclear accident, nuclear disaster, nuclear energy, nuclear industry, nuclear power, nuclear reactors, nuclear safety, nuclear waste, radioactive waste, risk management, Sierra Club, US NRC, USA

Comment By Jul 30 2018, at 11:59 PM ET, ID: NRC-2018-0052-0058 on Holtec’s proposed spent nuclear fuel facility in New Mexico: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NRC-2018-0052 Documents here: https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/hi/hi-app-docs.html See too: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/facts-on-how-holtec-spent-nuclear-fuel-canisters-are-substandard-and-should-not-be-used-parked-or-buried-anywhere-comment-by-july-30th-1159-pm-et/

Holtec casks with arrows pointing to small cooling vents, Diablo Canyon, NPS, NRC gov

If you think that transferring the spent nuclear fuel from spent fuel pools to “dry casks”, as it is currently done, is a magical solution – think again. Read about the problems with the Holtec and Areva spent nuclear fuel canister systems currently in use in the Sierra Club letter below, as well as at: https://sanonofresafety.org And, do a search for Holtec and Areva in the search window of our blog (Mining Awareness).

Both Holtec and Areva canisters are too thin and welded shut, rather than having lids. This is in stark contrast to German Castor spent nuclear fuel system which has two lids and a pressure sensor between the two lids, as well as temperature and radiation sensors. The sealed part which protects the public from radiation is also much, much thicker in Castor. Furthermore, Castor are stored inside buildings, whereas most US spent nuclear fuel appears to be stored parking lot style outside. Holtec and Areva should be forced to adopt a similar system to Castor.

Since they are welded shut, the Areva and Holtec casks cannot even be opened for checking without cask destruction, whereas the Castor have bolted lids and can be reopened. See: https://sanonofresafety.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/urgentnuclearwastecanisterproblems.pdf

In the German CASTOR 440/84 cask system, a “pressure sensor continuously measures pressure in the gap between the primary and secondary lid“, and the “system is wired to [the] Main Dosimetry Control Room“. There is a temperature sensor for continuous surface temperature monitoring, too. See “Operational Experience of Castor 440/84 Casks in Dukovany NPP” by Stanislav Kuba, 14th International Symposium on the Packaging and Paper # 022 Transportation of Radioactive Materials (PATRAM 2004), Berlin, Germany, September 20-24, 2004. http://www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/37/088/37088667.pdf

“COMMERCIAL NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE AND TRANSPORT PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS“: https://sanonofresafety.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/drystoragerecommendationsdg2017-08-24fivepage.pdf

Is this why we are stuck with the crappy Holtec spent fuel system? Bribery or related tactics? And Areva? https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/why-was-holtec-debarred-as-tva-contractor Holtec board member, George Norcross, is a Democratic party operative who has been friends with Donald Trump since Trump’s New Jersey casino days (at least). Norcross has a home near Trump in Florida and is a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. George is the brother of Congressman Donald Norcross.

One example of the dangerous way spent nuclear fuel is being handled: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/on-monday-holtec-usnrc-to-discuss-peening-of-spent-nuclear-fuel-canister-welds-apparently-before-flipping-areva-nuhoms-canisters-from-sideways-to-upright-to-move-to-holtec-interim-storage/

This is the Sierra Club’s letter to the US NRC, with emphasis added:

See original without emphasis here: https://sanonofresafety.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/sierraclubnrc-decomcomments2016-03-18.pdf