[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9612-9613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2663]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Notice of Availability of Documents Regarding Spent Fuel
Transportation Package Response to the Caldecott Tunnel Fire Scenario
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allen Hansen, Thermal Engineer,
Criticality, Shielding and Heat Transfer Section, Spent Fuel Project
Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20005-0001. Telephone: (301) 415-
1390; fax number: (301) 415-8555; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
Under contract with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), The
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory prepared a draft NUREG/CR report,
``Spent Fuel Transportation Package Response to the Caldecott Tunnel
Fire (CTF) Scenario.'' Highway tunnel fire accidents are very low
frequency events, but can be severe, in terms of fire duration and peak
temperatures. The CTF was chosen for the study because it represents a
severe historical highway tunnel accident, even though it is a very low
frequency event. This NUREG/CR documents the thermal analysis of one
spent fuel transportation package, the NAC International Model No. LWT
(``NAC LWT''), exposed to boundary conditions simulating the CTF
scenario.
The results of this study strongly indicate that no spent nuclear
fuel (SNF) particles or fission products would be released from the NAC
LWT or a similar spent fuel shipping cask involved in a severe tunnel
fire such as the Caldecott highway tunnel fire. The peak internal
temperatures predicted for the NAC LWT in the analysis of the CTF
scenario were not high enough to result in rupture of the fuel
cladding. Therefore, it would not be expected that any radioactive
material (i.e, SNF particles or fission products) would be released
from within the fuel rods.
The maximum NAC LWT temperatures experienced in the regions of the
lid, vent and drain ports exceeded the seals' rated service
temperatures, making it theoretically possible for a small release to
occur, due to CRUD that might spall off of the surfaces of the fuel
rods. However, any release is expected to be very small due to a number
of factors. These include: (1) The tight clearances maintained between
the lid and cask body by the lid closure bolts; (2) the low pressure
differential between the cask interior and the outside; (3) the
tendency of the small clearances to plug; and (4) the tendency of CRUD
particles to settle or plate out. The potential releases calculated in
Chapter 8 of this report for the NAC LWT truck cask indicate that the
release of CRUD from the cask, if any, would be very small--less than
an A2 quantity.
II. Summary
The purpose of this notice is to provide the public an opportunity
to review and comment on the Draft NUREG/CR thermal analysis, the
consequence analyses and the conclusions.
III. Further Information
The document related to this action is available on-line at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/docs4comment.html. In
addition, a copy of this document has been posted electronically at the
NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide
Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and
image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession number for
the document related to this notice is ML060330028. If you do not have
access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the document
located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference
staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
This document may also be viewed electronically on the public
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction
contractor will copy documents for a fee. Comments and questions on the
draft NUREG/CR can be entered on-line or directed to the
[[Page 9613]]
NRC contact listed above by May 30, 2006. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this date.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 17 day of February, 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Larry Campbell,
Chief, Criticality, Shielding and Heat Transfer Section, Spent Fuel
Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E6-2663 Filed 2-23-06; 8:45 am]
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