Analysis of dose consequences arising from the release of spent nuclear fuel from dry storage casks.

Abstract

The resulting dose consequences from releases of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) residing in a dry storage casks are examined parametrically. The dose consequences are characterized by developing dose versus distance curves using simplified bounding assumptions. The dispersion calculations are performed using the MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System (MACCS2) code. Constant weather and generic system parameters were chosen to ensure that the results in this report are comparable with each other and to determine the relative impact on dose of each variable. Actual analyses of site releases would need to accommodate local weather and geographic data. These calculations assume a range of fuel burnups, release fractions (RFs), three exposure scenarios (2 hrs and evacuate, 2 hrs and shelter, and 24 hrs exposure), two meteorological conditions (D-4 and F-2), and three release heights (ground level -1 meter (m), 10 m, and 100 m). This information was developed to support a policy paper being developed by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff on an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) and monitored retrievable storage installation (MRS) security rulemaking. iv This page intentionally blank v