The U.S. Department of Energy is currently designing a federal consolidated interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel. To transport the spent nuclear fuel from current storage sites at nuclear power plants to a new facility, DOE intends to ship via rail in specialized containers, or packages. Understanding that there are public concerns about transportation safety, the DOE is planning a full-scale package performance demonstration to show the ability of a SNF transportation cask to protect workers, the public, and the environment in the event of a transportation accident. This talk will explain what a package performance demonstration is, provide context about spent nuclear fuel transportation, and share an opportunity to provide input into what kind of demonstrations DOE should consider.
