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LACBWR Decommissioning Project Continues

Dry Cask Storage construction is underway

Decommissioning of Dairyland’s La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor (LACBWR) continues, with a key project—storage of spent fuel in dry casks—proceeding smoothly.

The Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) site being constructed on the south end of the Genoa Site is for the interim storage of Dairyland’s spent nuclear fuel. Dairyland will be moving the spent fuel assemblies from our shut down nuclear plant to the ISFSI during summer 2011. The fuel will be safely stored in the casks on the Genoa Site, awaiting the availability of a temporary or permanent centralized national repository for spent nuclear fuel.

Recent licensing milestone

The dry cask storage project and the LACBWR facility are regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In October 2010, Dairyland received confirmation through NAC International, manufacturers of the dry cask storage containers planned for use at LACBWR, that the NRC approved an important amendment to the cask storage license. The NRC requires that the fuel to be stored be specifically mentioned on a cask storage license, so in this case an amendment had to be made to NAC’s existing canister design in order to add LACBWR fuel as approved storage content.

Site construction status

Current activities at the Dairyland’s Genoa Site regarding LACBWR dry cask storage readiness revolve around two areas. The first is fabrication and construction, ensuring that we have the equipment and facilities ready for the transfer of fuel to dry storage. Following is a brief summary of construction activities:

• The concrete casks and transfer cask are already on site. The metal canisters are being fabricated now at NAC and will start delivery to LACBWR in February 2011.
• The ISFSI site soil preparation is also complete. Dairyland staff is currently pouring the ISFSI concrete pad.
• Installation of the security system will continue into early winter.
• Comprehensive reactor building modifications are in progress to accommodate the large capacity spent fuel storage canister loading.

The NRC has already conducted several inspections of Dairyland’s site readiness, including the development of programs, procedures and training. Many more such NRC inspections are expected, in accordance with the rules and regulations established for dry cask storage loading.

About the storage casks

Dairyland is utilizing the NAC Multi-Purpose Canister System. The spent fuel storage system has three major components: a stainless steel canister, transfer cask and a concrete storage cask (pictured). Five casks total will house the LACBWR fuel.

The thick steel liner and reinforced concrete walls of the storage cask provide radiation shielding, physical protection and security. The concrete casks, otherwise known as “overpacks,” will house the spent fuel canisters at the ISFSI site. In the event the spent fuel is ultimately shipped off-site, the canisters will be transferred from the overpacks to transport casks for shipment.

Background on LACBWR’s decommissioning process

LACBWR was shut down and its facilities placed in SAFSTOR in April 1987. Until the spent nuclear fuel at LACBWR is removed, Dairyland cannot fully decommission the facility. Although the current method for storing fuel is safe, the storage pool was not intended for long-term storage.

A key decommissioning activity occurred in 2007, when Dairyland contracted with Energy Solutions, a national radioactive waste services contractor, to facilitate the removal and disposal of LACBWR’s Reactor Pressure Vessel and other low-level, non-fuel waste to a disposal site in South Carolina.