Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
2002 International RERTR Meeting

CHALLENGES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

SHIPMENT OF 255 DIDO FUEL ELEMENTS TO THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE TO EMPTY THE STORAGE AND REACTOR POOLS AT RISOE NATIONAL LABORATORY

Mogens Bagger Hansen
Risoe National Laboratory
P.O. Box 49
4000 Roskilde – Denmark
mogens.bagger.hansen@risoe.dk

Jean Luc Mondanel
Cogema Logistics
BP 302
78054 St Quentin en Yvelines - France
jlmondanel@cogemalogistics.com

Catherine Anne
NAC International
3930 East Jones Bridge Rd
Norcross, GA 30092 – USA
canne@nacintl.com

ABSTRACT

The DR-3 reactor, owned and operated by the Danish National Laboratory, was built in the late 1950’s and initiated operation in January 1960. At that time the DR-1 and DR-2 reactors were already in operation. The main purpose of Danish research reactor DR-3 was material and fuel testing. Until 1989 the reactor utilized HEU fuel elements. Conversion to the LEU fuel cycle was accomplished in 1990.

DOE restarted the return program for Foreign Research Reactor fuel elements to the United States in 1994. From that time, through 1998, three IUO4 casks (one cask in 1994) operated by Transnucleaire (now named Cogema Logistics, ACL) were used to transport Risoe’s fuel to the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, SC in the USA. In 1999, Risoe elected to issue a request for proposal to transport DR-3 the DIDO fuel elements to SRS with a new licensed cask designed to replace the IUO4 cask. ACL was awarded the contract to transport the irradiated fuel from DR-3 to SRS for the remainder of the FRR Fuel Return program (2009).

However, on September 28, 2000, the Board of Governors of Risoe National Laboratory decided to shut down the Danish research reactor of DR3. There had been of R2 technical problems (corrosion on the aluminum reactor tank) and, due to anticipated increasing operational expenses, the Board elected to close the reactor facility. Shortly thereafter, the Danish Government asked the National Laboratory to empty the reactor and its reactor and storage pools containing a total of 255 Dido irradiated fuel elements and ship them to Savannah River Site. At that time, ACL was in the process of licensing the new TN-MTR package in the USA. The early shut down of the DR-3 reactor and resultant new shipping schedule was not compatible with ACL’s equipment and licensing schedule for the cask.