On Tuesday, August 26, 2014 4:03 PM, SNC Communications released the following news release:
Used fuel storage and today’s NRC vote
SNC Communications was forwarded a media inquiry by Georgia Power from JoAnn Merrigan with Savannah Morning News asking about used fuel storage at our plant sites and our view on today’s NRC vote on the used nuclear fuel rule. Michelle Tims responded with the following statement:
Southern Nuclear’s top priority is the safety and health of the public and our employees. We are committed to the safe operation of our nuclear generating facilities with equipment and systems that meet rigorous NRC safety and design regulations.
We have safe, reliable on-site options to store the used fuel at our nuclear plants. All of our sites have the capability to safely store used fuel on-site for the duration of our plants’ operating licenses and the expected life of the plant.
Southern Nuclear has dry cask storage campaigns at each of the plants almost annually to ensure we maintain adequate room in our spent fuel pools. Our fleet objective is to maintain the ability to offload dual reactor core refueling capabilities and loading plans to transition used fuel from the spent fuel pools are established to support this objective.
At Plant Hatch, currently there are approximately 5,000 assemblies stored within the spent fuel pools and approximately 3,806 assemblies stored in dry casks.
At Plant Farley, currently there are approximately 2,300 assemblies stored within the spent fuel pools and approximately 928 assemblies stored in dry casks.
At Plant Vogtle, currently there are approximately 2,600 assemblies stored within the spent fuel pools and approximately 192 assemblies stored in dry casks.
As stated by Ellen Ginsberg with the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry appreciates the NRC’s effort to address the areas of the 2010 used nuclear fuel rule found to be lacking by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The industry also commends the NRC for adhering to the 24-month schedule established by the commission for publication of the final rule.
If you have further questions about the nuclear industry’s view on today’s NRC vote, I encourage you to contact the Nuclear Energy Institute.
Merrigan asked for an explanation of a fuel assembly, and if it is a container, how much it holds. Tims provided the following information:
Fuel pellets are placed into long tubes made of a noncorrosive material. These tubes are grouped together into a bundle, and this bundle of tubes forms a fuel assembly.
A single fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor (BWR) contains 63 fuel tubes.
A single fuel assembly for a pressurized water reactor (PWR) contains 264 fuel tubes.