Updated Recommendations Related to Spent Fuel Transport and Dry Storage Shielding Analyses (NUREG/CR-7302, ORNL/TM-2023/2679)
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Publication Information
Manuscript Completed: March 2023
Date Published: May 2023
Prepared by:
Georgeta Radulescu
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6283
Lucas Kyriazidis, NRC Project Manager
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington DC 20555-0001
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Abstract
This report provides updated recommendations for the important areas of the shielding review of applications for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Certificates of Compliance for spent fuel dry storage cask and Type B radioactive material transportation package designs. The recommendations are based on a series of research studies sponsored by the NRC and performed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The main findings of this research are described and illustrated with graphs that allow for examination of representative source terms and dose rates, as well as expected effects of various input parameters on source terms and dose rates for transportation packages and storage casks. The principal recommendations cover: spent nuclear fuel limiting characteristics for loadings; relationships between decay heat and external dose rate; bounding depletion parameters for fuel assembly radiation source term calculations; the neutron source from subcritical multiplication; secondary gamma dose rates; reconstituted fuel assemblies with irradiated stainless-steel fuel rods; air density and soil composition specifications for storage cask far-field dose rate calculations; and models for activated metals in Type B waste packages. The recommendations are intended to provide staff with updated guidance on the performance of shielding analyses that account for modern methods, different application systems, and benchmark experiments.
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Friday, August 04, 2023