Specific requirements for spent fuel storage cask approval and fabrication.
10 C.F.R. § 72.236
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01The certificate holder and applicant for a CoC shall ensure that the requirements of this section are met.
(a) Specifications must be provided for the spent fuel to be stored in the spent fuel storage cask, such as, but not limited to, type of spent fuel (i.e., BWR, PWR, both), maximum allowable enrichment of the fuel prior to any irradiation, burn-up (i.e., megawatt-days/MTU), minimum acceptable cooling time of the spent fuel prior to storage in the spent fuel storage cask, maximum heat designed to be dissipated, maximum spent fuel loading limit, condition of the spent fuel (i.e., intact assembly or consolidated fuel rods), the inerting atmosphere requirements.
(b) Design bases and design criteria must be provided for structures, systems, and components important to safety.
(c) The spent fuel storage cask must be designed and fabricated so that the spent fuel is maintained in a subcritical condition under credible conditions.
(d) Radiation shielding and confinement features must be provided sufficient to meet the requirements in §§ 72.104 and 72.106.
(e) The spent fuel storage cask must be designed to provide redundant sealing of confinement systems.
(f) The spent fuel storage cask must be designed to provide adequate heat removal capacity without active cooling systems.
(g) The spent fuel storage cask must be designed to store the spent fuel safely for the term proposed in the application, and permit maintenance as required.
(h) The spent fuel storage cask must be compatible with wet or dry spent fuel loading and unloading facilities.
(i) The spent fuel storage cask must be designed to facilitate decontamination to the extent practicable.
(j) The spent fuel storage cask must be inspected to ascertain that there are no cracks, pinholes, uncontrolled voids, or other defects that could significantly reduce its confinement effectiveness.
(k) The spent fuel storage cask must be conspicuously and durably marked with—
(1) A model number;
(2) A unique identification number; and
(3) An empty weight.
(l) The spent fuel storage cask and its systems important to safety must be evaluated, by appropriate tests or by other means acceptable to the NRC, to demonstrate that they will reasonably maintain confinement of radioactive material under normal, off-normal, and credible accident conditions.
(m) To the extent practicable in the design of spent fuel storage casks, consideration should be given to compatibility with removal of the stored spent fuel from a reactor site, transportation, and ultimate disposition by the Department of Energy.
(n) Safeguards Information shall be protected against unauthorized disclosure in accordance with the requirements of § 73.21 and the requirements of § 73.22 or § 73.23 of this chapter, as applicable.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-10.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026