NRC Seeks Public Comment on Spent Fuel Pool Study
The NRC is interested in commentson a draft study examining if faster removal of spent reactor fuel from pools to dry cask storage significantly reduces risks to public health and safety
.Based onprevious research showing earthquakes present the dominant risk for spent fuel pools, the draft study evaluated how pool leakage from a potential earthquake might cause the spent fuel to overheat and release
radioactive material to the environment. The draft study concludes there
is approximately a one in 10 million years chance of a severe earthquake causing a radioactive release from the pool at the site examined. The NRC
began the study following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident where the spent fuel pools survived a strong earthquake. The study considered a spent fuel pool similar to those at Fukushima and 23 other
U.S. reactors, and an earthquake several times stronger than what the pool's
design considered. The study examined both a "full" spent fuel pool and onewith less fuel and more spacing between individual fuel assemblies, as wellas emergency procedures for adding wather to the pool in the unlikely event that the earthquake causes the pool to lose water.
“Our detailed analysis showed that even a very strong earthquake has a low probability ofdamaging the pool studied to the point of losing water," saidBrian Sheron, Director of the NRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.More at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2013/13-053.pdf
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