NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 Office of Public Affairs, Region I

 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406

 www.nrc.gov

No. I-04-037 July 15, 2004

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 Email: opa1@nrc.gov

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC UPDATES PUBLIC ON INDIAN POINT SPENT FUEL STORAGE PLANS

 PEEKSKILL, N.Y. – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff, in a meeting this

evening with members of the public, stressed that a dry cask storage facility for spent fuel

planned for the Indian Point nuclear power plant will be subject to rigorous reviews by the

agency before it is allowed to operate.

 In addition, NRC officials said inspections will be conducted to ensure the facility

meets stringent agency requirements with regard to safety and security of the units.

 “The NRC takes very seriously its responsibility of protecting public health and safety,”

said Larry W. Camper, Deputy Director of the Licensing and Inspection Directorate in the NRC’s

Spent Fuel Project Office. “We will be vigilant in our regulatory oversight of the Indian Point

dry cask storage facility and make sure the units are in compliance with all relevant requirements

before being placed into service.”

 Indian Point’s owner, Entergy, notified the NRC late last year of its intention to build a

dry cask storage facility at the Buchanan, N.Y., plant. The company plans to install the facility

under a “general license,” an option that permits a plant to make use of certain evaluations, such

as environmental impact or seismic reviews, conducted when the plant was originally licensed. 

Provided that a dry cask storage system already certified by the NRC is used, plant owners do not

need a separate approval from the agency. Nevertheless, such facilities are subject to a series of

reviews by the NRC.

 The type of dry cask unit that Entergy plans to use at Indian Point is already in service

at eight U.S. nuclear power plant sites. Other facilities are also considering using that model. 

The NRC has certified the safety of the model, the Hi-Storm 100 vertical cask, after detailed

technical and engineering evaluations. Prior to NRC certification of the Hi-Storm 100 for use

under a general license in May 2000, there was an opportunity for members of the public to raise

any concerns they might have about the model’s safety.
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 Camper said the NRC will independently evaluate the plant’s ability to safely operate a

dry cask storage facility. In the long term, the NRC will continue to check on the qualifications

of personnel assigned to dry cask operations, security of the facility, environmental monitoring

and maintenance.

 He also noted that the NRC has been proactive in ensuring the security of spent fuel

storage facilities, including dry cask storage units. This has been achieved through compliance

with existing NRC security standards, the issuance of security orders and advisories, regular

inspections and the performance of vulnerability assessments. Collectively, these measures

ensure that spent fuel can be stored safely and securely.

 In addition to Camper, several other NRC officials spoke at the meeting, held at Crystal

Bay on the Hudson. Ron Bellamy, an NRC branch chief who oversees inspections of dry cask

facilities, addressed specific areas that would be reviewed by the agency before the facility is

used, including oversight of the design of the units, their fabrication, pre-operational

demonstrations and operational activities.

 Dry cask storage is currently in use at about 30 nuclear power plant sites across the

nation. The NRC considers both dry cask storage and spent fuel pools to be safe and acceptable

alternatives for the storage of spent fuel.

 With the dry cask storage option, fuel is removed from a circulating-water spent fuel

pool after a sufficient period of cooling time has elapsed and placed inside robust stainless-steel

casks. Those casks are then sealed, filled with an inert gas and placed inside specially designed

storage “overpacks,” in the case of Indian Point cylindrical vaults made of steel-reinforced

concrete. Convective air flow through vents at the top and bottom of the units helps ensure that

the fuel remains properly cooled. The units must be capable of resisting floods, tornadoes,

projectiles, temperature extremes and other unusual scenarios.

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