Areva subsidiary Transnuclear on Wendesday announced it has submitted a new storage system for spent nuclear fuel to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for review.
Known as NUHOMS 32PTH2, it is designed for marine environments, according to an Areva release, incorporating more robust corrosion resistance and other measures to allow for a longer design life among the wind, salt and water associated with seaside plants.
Dry casks are reinforced containers filled with inert gas that store spent fuel rods after they've cooled for a year or more in a nuclear plant's spent fuel pool. The NUHOMS system can hold 32 pressurized water reactor fuel assemblies. Areva anticipates the new system will receive regulatory approval in 2014.
“It can withstand very high seismic and stringent dose requirements, which are of the utmost importance in delivering safe, quality solutions for our customers,” Transnuclear CEO Michael McMahon said in the release.