Moving the Largest Capacity PWR Dual-Purpose Cask in the World from Gösgen NPP to the Zwilag Interim Storage Site

Abstract

The Swiss Gösgen nuclear power plant (NPP) has decided to use two different methods for the disposal of its spent fuel. (1) To reprocess some of its spent fuel in dedicated facilities. Some of the vitrified waste from the reprocessing plant will be shipped back to Switzerland using the new COGEMA Logistics, TN81 cask. (2) To ship the other part of its spent fuel to the central interim storage facility at Zwilag (Switzerland) using a COGEMA Logistics dual-purpose TN24G cask. The TN24G is the heaviest and largest dual-purpose cask manufactured so far by COGEMA Logistics in Europe. It is intended for the transport and storage of 37 pressurised water-reactor (PWR) spent fuel assemblies. Four casks were delivered by COGEMA Logistics to Gösgen NPP. Three transports of loaded TN24G casks between Gösgen and Zwilag were successfully pelformed at the beginning of 2002 using the new COGEMA Logistics Q76 wagon specifically designed to transport heavy casks. This article describes the procedure of operations and shipments for the first TN24G casks up to storage at Zwilag. The fourth shipment of loaded TN24G was due to take place in October 2002. The TN24G cask, as part of the TN24 cask family, proved to be a very efficient solution for Kemkraftwerk Gösgen spent fuel management.