Researchers from the Kurchatov Institute have proposed a new method of storing spent nuclear fuel (SNF). In Russia, SNF is currently stored in pool-type storage facilities, and scientists suggest using hermetically sealed gas-filled containers for this purpose.
Work is being carried out at the Kurchatov Institute to justify safe dry storage in hermetically sealed gas-filled containers. As a result, a calculation code will be created, which will allow to justify modes of dry storage, transport operations, as well as various emergency situations.
Head of the Department of the Kurchatov Complex of Nature-like Technologies Alexey Frolov
There are about 450 active nuclear reactors in the world that produce approximately 900 tons of spent nuclear fuel annually. Therefore, SNF storage is a big problem.
The trend globally is that it has become very expensive to transfer spent nuclear fuel to our location, and we are importing fuel from many units we are building abroad. Dry storage will allow spent assemblies to be stored directly on the objects or in separate territorial zones.
Alexey Frolov