Dry Storage of the BR3 Spent Fuel in the CASTOR® BR3 Cask

Abstract

The BR3 reactor was the first PWR plant installed in Europe. Started in 1962, BR3 was definitely shut down on June 30th, 1987. Used at the beginning of its life as a training device for commercial plant operators, it was also used during its whole life as test-reactor for new fuel types and assemblies. Most of the spent fuel was stored in the deactivation pool of the plant for more than 15 years. The reactor being now in decommissioning, it was decided to remove the spent fuel from the plant. After comparison of different solutions, the long term storage in dual purpose storage casks was selected in 1997. The selected CASTOR-BR3® cask is designed as a transport and storage cask for accommodating 30 spent fuel assemblies. As a type B(U) cask fitted with shock absorbers, it meets the transport requirements according to the IAEA guidelines and fulfils also the conditions for cask storage.