Laserfiche WebLink
I <br /> I <br /> spent fuel pool is more likely to reach the storage pools to dry casks when it has years, but U.S. reactor operators gener- <br /> outside environment than radiation re- cooled enough to do so. ally leave the fuel in pools until the pools <br /> leased from the reactor core. Spent fuel The risks associated with spent fuel pools are full. As a result, most pools contain <br /> pools are also more vulnerable than the can be reduced by placing some of the five times as much fuel as the reactors <br /> reactor core to a terrorist attack. fuel in dry casks,which are made of steel themselves. <br /> and concrete and cooled by natural con- The less fuel that remains in the pool, <br /> 4. Be NRCshould require plant owners vection.Spent fuel is usually cool enough the longer it would take for the water to <br /> to move spent fuel at reactor sites from to be transferred to casks after about five heat up and boil away if cooling is lost, <br /> thus giving workers more time to solve <br /> f the problem and restore cooling.And if <br /> an accident did occur that led to the re- <br /> t = lease of radiation, less would be emitted <br /> than if the pool was full. <br /> 5. The NRC should require reactor <br /> ` owners to improve the security of exist- <br /> . , <br /> y ing dry cask storage facilities. <br /> Dry casks at reactor sites are stored out- <br /> 7 <br /> ut- <br /> doors on concrete pads. Although they <br /> 0 are more secure than spent fuel pools in <br /> t �.'+«�.::•• <d ' the event of attack, dry casks remain <br /> vulnerable to some types of weapons. <br /> ` •:`p•:0�, �.+.��:'p 't', According to vulnerability assessments <br /> �, � �`���•�� d� t, \ conducted by the NRC following the <br /> 9/11 attacks,certain types of explosive wea- <br /> pons could breach some types of casks.2 <br /> However,dry casks can likely be made an <br /> r++ acceptably safe and economically viable <br /> i storage option for at least 50 years with <br /> Spent nuclear fuel stored in pools is more vulnerable to accidents,natural disasters,and attack a few relatively simple modifications to <br /> than fuel in the reactor core,and more likely to release radiation into the atmosphere. security plans and site infrastructure.' <br /> 6. The NRC should require plant owners <br /> to significantly improve emergency <br /> procedures and operator training for <br /> spent fuel pool accidents. <br /> Inadequate cooling of spent fuel pools <br /> can result in the release of dangerous lev- <br /> els of radiation. The NRC and the U.S. <br /> nuclear industry have developed extensive <br /> emergency procedures to handle design- <br /> basis reactor core accidents, and provide <br /> thorough operator training on their im- <br /> plementation (although,as noted in rec- <br /> ommendations 1 and 2,these procedures <br /> should be improved for severe accidents). <br /> ® In contrast,they have given little thought <br /> T to spent fuel pool accidents, so response <br /> procedures are inadequate and there is <br /> virtually no operator training for such <br /> a accidents. <br /> Dry casks are more secure than spent fuel pools,and with a few modifications could likely be made Upgraded procedures and operator <br /> a viable storage option for at leas[S6 years. training for emergency events including <br /> 6 UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS <br />