Buchanan, N.Y. – Entergy Nuclear’s Indian Point Energy Center reached a
significant milestone today as the first group of spent fuel assemblies were
loaded into canisters in the Unit 2 spent fuel pool in preparation to move the
fuel into dry cask storage. Dry cask storage is a safe, simple and reliable
system that seals used fuel into large, airtight steel and concrete canisters
that provide structural strength and radiation shielding.
“This is a tremendous achievement and a historic day for Indian Point. The
entire team has been working toward this goal since Entergy purchased the plants
in 2000 and 2001,” stated Site Vice President Joe Pollock. “The move to dry cask
storage is an important step toward preparing Indian Point for continued safe
operation.”
The removal of fuel from the pool started on Dec. 31 at approximately 10:30
a.m. when radiation protection technicians, along with members of the
highly-trained dry cask storage project team, removed used fuel from the Unit 2
fuel pool using a 110-ton gantry crane. During the next 36 to 48 hours, the
fuel, now inside the multi-purpose canister, will be dried and the canister will
be welded shut. Radiation protection technicians continuously monitor the
radiation dose levels during the entire process.
Once the fuel is secured and sealed inside the multi-purpose canister, it is
placed inside a Hi-Storm cask. These robust casks are 20 feet high, 11 feet
wide, with concrete walls that are two feet thick. When loaded with fuel, each
cask weights approximately 360,000 pounds.
After this stage is complete, the dry cask project team will remove the cask
from the Unit 2 spent fuel pool building. Using a heavy-haul transporter, a
specially designed transporter with tank-like treads specifically designed to
fit and move the 360,000-pound casks, the team will move the loaded cask to the
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation pad just north of the plants inside
the protected security area.
The ISFSI pad is approximately 100 feet wide by 200 feet long. Approximately
480 truckloads of concrete and 21 miles of rebar were used to form the
two-and-one-half-foot thick concrete pad. Under the pad is a six foot thick bed
of compressed engineered fill that provides a foundation that also acts as a
shock absorber in the event of seismic activity. The casks will remain on the
ISFSI pad until a national repository is made available.
Members of the press will be invited to Indian Point Energy Center to witness
the final step of the process as the heavy-haul transporter brings the cask to
the ISFSI pad. This is expected to occur four to six days after the fuel is
removed from the pool and staged in the spent fuel pool building while drying.
An advisory will be issued to the media by Entergy when the exact date and time
is determined.
Indian Point Energy Center, in Buchanan, N.Y., generates approximately 2,140
megawatts of electricity for customers largely in Westchester County and New
York City.
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in
electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and
operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating
capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States.
The Entergy System delivers electricity to 2.6 million utility customers in
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more
than $10 billion and approximately 14,500 employees.
For more information about dry cask storage, click here for the Indian Point Energy Center Press Kit
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Indian Point Energy Center’s online address is
www.safesecurevital.com
