24.01.2019
Transport and storage cask for spent fuel from research reactors
On 17 January 2019, the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (Bundesamt für kerntechnische Entsorgungssicherheit/BfE) issued the package design approval certificate for the transport and storage cask CASTOR® MTR3 as type B(U)F packaging. The cask was developed by GNS Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service mbH especially for spent fuel elements from research reactors. The approval complies with the internationally valid regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the safe transport of radioactive materials.
The CASTOR® MTR3 will initially be used for the transport and storage of spent fuel elements of the research reactor FRM II of the TU Munich. In addition, the cask will be able to accommodate further fuel assembly types from other research reactors (e.g. TRIGA, MTR) with the use of individually adapted fuel baskets.
The casks, which are about 160 cm high and weigh 16 t, essentially consist of a body made of ductile cast iron, a basket for accommodating the fuel elements and a double lid system with metallic sealings. These design features ensure safe containment the radioactive materials both during transport and subsequent storage.
The comparatively small CASTOR® MTR3 casks are made of the same materials and have the same design features and safety functions as the CASTOR® casks from GNS for fuel assemblies from commercial power plants, which are up to four times larger and have already proven their reliability well over 1000 times.
Further information can be found on the CASTOR® MTR3 product page.