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Abstract
The aging management system for the mechanical components of nuclear power plants (NPPs) must be established and used by the licensee in such a way that the quality of safety relevant components is guaranteed for the completely designed lifetime of the NPP. This demands an extensive plant life management with special emphases on the knowledge of the degradation in material properties. The basic safety concept in Germany observes this circumstance. Lifetime extension of the German NPPs is an aim of the current valid coalition agreement of the German government. Operational extension of interim storage facilities requires, in comparison to the aging management system for NPP, an aging management system adapted to the special circumstances of spent fuel storage casks. Extension of interim storage periods for spent fuel casks beyond the designed lifetime requires, in comparison to the components of an NPP, an increasing knowledge of material degradation with potential impact on cask integrity, e.g. leak tightness. Dry interim storage in Germany has been approved for 40 years. After that time, according to the present strategy, a final repository should be available. However, until now, such a final facility still does not exist, and the German exploration and licensing process is heavily delayed. Currently, discussions are continuing regarding further exploration of the Gorleben salt mine. There is willingness to overcome this situation that is clearly described in the available coalition agreement of the federal government. Anyway, however, the prediction is viewed; a repository for heat generating radioactive waste in Germany will not be available in the near future and may not be available when first storage facilities and casks reach their 40 years of approved lifetime, which will occur in ∼25 years starting from now. Therefore, the question must be asked: what has to be done with the existing storage casks in the interim facilities? May these casks be fit for continued use, with an extension of the storage period? One option is to have an aging management system, which creates enough information about the technical condition of safety relevant cask properties. This is the basis for safety evaluation for extended storage periods. In the present paper, possible aging mechanisms for high level waste storage casks are discussed, as well as the influence of the time dependent changes of the component properties.