Transportation system benefits of early deployment of a 75-ton multipurpose canister system

In 1993 the US Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System (CRWMS) began developing two multipurpose canister (MPC) systems to provide a standardized method for interim storage and transportation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) at commercial nuclear power plants. One is a 75-ton concept with an estimated payload of about 6 metric tons (t) of SNF, and the other is a 125-ton concept with an estimated payload of nearly 11 t of SNF. These payloads are two to three times the payloads of the largest currently certified US rail transport casks, the IF-300. Although is it recognized that a fully developed 125-ton MPC system is likely to provide a greater cost benefit, and radiation exposure benefit than the lower-capacity 75-ton MPC, the authors of this paper suggest that development and deployment of the 75-ton MPC prior to developing and deploying a 125-ton MPC is a desirable strategy. Reasons that support this are discussed in this paper