SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE

Spent nuclear fuels are received from reactor sites around the world and are being stored in the L-Basin at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina. The predominant fuel types are research reactor fuel with aluminum-alloy cladding and aluminum-based fuel. Other fuel materials include stainless steel and Zircaloy cladding with uranium oxide fuel. Chemistry control and corrosion surveillance programs have been established and upgraded since the early 1990's to minimize corrosion degradation of the aluminum cladding materials, so as to maintain fuel integrity and minimize personnel exposure from radioactivity in the basin water. Recent activities have been initiated to support additional decades of wet storage which include fuel inspection and corrosion testing to evaluate the effects of specific water impurity species on corrosion attack