Jun 29 - Palm Beach Post

Florida Power & Light Co. plans to change the way it handles radioactive waste at its St. Lucie Nuclear Plant in two years because the storage facility is almost full, FPL and federal officials told St. Lucie County commissioners Tuesday.

The underwater storage pool is getting full, and spent fuel rods could be encased in concrete and steel starting in 2008, they said.

"Dry storage is a national trend," FPL official Alan Fata said.

Many nuclear reactor sites are running out of storage space on their properties, and the federal government still has not opened the underground storage facility it promised years ago.

Unit 1 on South Hutchinson Island could become the first in Florida to use dry storage in 2008, with Unit II to follow in 2010. Turkey Point reactors in Miami-Dade County could use dry storage in 2010 and 2012.

Randy Hall of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission told commissioners that the dry storage method was used first in 1986 in Virginia and has spread to 42 nuclear plants. Another 14 are seeking approval.

About a third of the St. Lucie plant's nuclear fuel is replaced every 18 months to keep the plant running efficiently.

Spent fuel rods will continue to be put under water when removed from a reactor but would be transferred to the dry storage facility after five years, according to an FPL brochure distributed at the meeting.

A stainless steel canister inside another metal canister would be lowered into the water, and the spent fuel rods would be placed inside.

The sealed canisters would be placed in the dry storage building, which has concrete walls up to 4 feet thick, according to the brochure.

The St. Lucie reactors' containment domes and the proposed dry storage building are designed to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes, officials said.

Tuesday's presentation was the start of a public information campaign leading to Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearings before a permit is approved.

"Could other nuclear plants send their waste here for storage?" Commissioner Frannie Hutchinson wanted to know.

It's possible but not likely, Hall said.

"Everyone is running out of storage space, and there are lots of reasons a plant would not want others' waste," he said. "We haven't received any applications."

FPL plans to convert to dry storage at all of its nuclear plants: Turkey Point near Miami, Seabrook Station in New Hampshire and the Duane Arnold plant near Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Nuclear plants were intended to reprocess and reuse fuel rods, but that idea was squelched in the 1970s.

"That meant more storage space is needed than originally anticipated," Hall said.

Federal officials planned to open an underground storage facility in 1998, but permit problems and court challenges have stalled that. It is unclear when the underground storage area will be ready, if ever.

jim_reeder@pbpost.com

Typical dry storage system

At some nuclear reactors across the country, used fuel, also known as spent fuel, is kept on site. Once the spent fuel has cooled, it is loaded into metal canisters.

- Each canister is designed to hold 24 to 72 spent fuel assemblies, depending on the type.

- Water and air are removed.

- The canister is filled with inert gas and welded or bolted shut.

- Some canisters are designed to be placed vertically in above- ground concrete or steel structures. Florida Power & Light plans to store its canisters horizontally.

Source: Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(c) 2006 Palm Beach Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.