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NRC ISSUES LICENSE FOR SPENT FUEL STORAGE INSTALLATION AT CLOSED RANCHO SECO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a license to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to store spent fuel from its Rancho Seco nuclear generating station in an independent spent fuel storage installation at the plant site near Herald, California. The plant permanently shut down in 1989 after 14 years of commercial operation. The spent fuel, which is presently stored in a water pool at the site, will be placed in dry casks on concrete storage pads. The pads will be surrounded by both a security fence and a perimeter fence. NRC will conduct an inspection prior to and during fuel loading. The facility will provide storage for up to 228.8 metric tons of uranium contained in 493 fuel assemblies. Up to 24 assemblies can be loaded into each cask. SMUD plans to use a modified NUHOMS-24P model cask, designed by Transnuclear West, Inc. The license permits storage for an initial term of 20 years, with the possibility of renewal. The dry casks will provide the capacity to store all spent fuel generated by Rancho Seco during its operating life. Following receipt of a dry cask storage application filed by SMUD, NRC published a notice in the Federal Register offering an opportunity for a public hearing. No requests for a hearing were received. Before issuing the license, the NRC staff conducted an environmental assessment, which found no significant impact, and a safety review, which found that no radioactive materials would be released from the casks under any credible accident conditions. Copies of the license are available for review at the NRC Public Document Room located at 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20555 and from the NRC Office of Public Affairs. # # # # # | |||||||||||
