We are pleased to report that the license application to store the NUHOMS 24PT1-DSC canister in the HI-STORM UMAX subterranean storage system has been submitted to the U.S. NRC on schedule, as announced previously in this news bulletin (HH-31.09). The submittal presents a robust safety case for the processes for extracting the dry shielded canister from its horizontal module, up-righting and installing it in the HI-STORM UMAX's subterranean cavity. As expected, change in the storage configuration from the horizontal NUHOMS to the vertical HI-STORM UMAX improves every metric of safety and security for the fuel which should help expedite NRC's certification. The unavailability of proprietary design information from the canister's designer, Areva, did not prove to be much of an impediment in the safety analysis effort. In due time, Holtec plans to submit all remaining canister types supplied by others that are presently in use around the U.S. for transfer to the HI-STORM UMAX. The object of this licensing campaign is to make it possible to store all U.S. commercial fuel at our planned Eddy-Lea alliance-sponsored HI-STORE CISF (consolidated interim storage facility) in Southeast New Mexico using a common storage system and a single type of ancillary equipment, to minimize human error.
 
Ageing Management of canisters previously loaded and to be loaded at ISFSIs located in aggressive environments is another area of critical concentration by Holtec. Ground-breaking technologies to monitor canister ageing effects as well as preventive measures to greatly expand the canisters’ service life are being developed. The Company plans to disclose its achievements in this critical area of great topical interest at the next Holtec User Group meeting in November of 2016.  

In the transport certification front, Holtec submitted HI-STAR 80 which, at 50 kW for PWR and 54 kW for BWR fuel, becomes the nuclear industry's highest heat load modern cask for transporting both high and low burn-up light water reactor fuel in full compliance with IAEA standards and 10CFR 71. HI-STAR 80 incorporates several innovative design features to minimize contamination during its submersion in the pool and to reduce proximate dose rates during transport. HI-STAR 80 joins the growing family of HI-STAR casks licensed over the past twenty years, namely model #s 60, 100, 100HB, 180, 180D, and 190.

"We appreciate the responsiveness of the DSFM management, and the diligent and conscientious review of our applications by the NRC Staff which have been crucial in meeting our clients' growing needs as the dry storage sites steadily increase in number across the country,” says Kim Manzione, Holtec's Licensing Manager.