Dry cask storage is a method of storing high-level radioactive waste, such as spent nuclear fuel that has already been cooled in the spent fuel pool for at least one year. These casks are typically steel cylinders that are either welded or bolted closed. When inside, the fuel rods are surrounded by inert gas. Ideally, the steel cylinder provides leak-tight containment of the spent fuel. Each cylinder is surrounded by additional steel, concrete, or other material to provide radiation shielding to workers and members of the public. Some of the cask designs can be used for both storage and transportation. Three companies Holtec Intl, NAC Intl. and Areva-Transnuclear NUHOMS are marketing Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSI's) based upon an unshielded muti purpose caniste which is transported and store in on-site vertical or horizontal shielded storage modules constructed of steel and concrete.These systems are in-place and operational at a number of utility sites.
There are various dry storage cask system designs. With some designs, the steel cylinders containing the fuel are placed vertically in a concrete vault; other designs orient the cylinders horizontally. The concrete vaults provide the radiation shielding. Other cask designs orient the steel cylinder vertically on a concrete pad at a dry cask storage site and use both metal and concrete outer cylinders for radiation shielding. Currently there is no long term permanent storage facility, dry cask storage is designed as an interim safer solution than spent pool storage.
The containers are also known as castor containers, which is an acronym for "cask for storage and transport of radioactive material". CASTOR is a tradename of the Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service, a company for nuclear services.
Read more about Dry Cask Storage: Usage
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