Ensa has delivered to Santa María de Garoña NPP the first ENUN 52B dual-purpose spent fuel cask

Equipos Nucleares S.A., S.M.E. (Ensa) has delivered the 4th of May to Santa María de Garoña NPP the first ENUN 52B dual-purpose spent fuel cask. This cask is the first of an order of 5 units from Spain’s ENRESA (Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos, S.A., S.M.E., M.P.) placed in October 2012, which included the design, licensing and manufacturing of such casks for the boiling water reactor owned by Nuclenor S.A..

The ENUN 52B bare fuel type cask has been specifically designed to meet Santa María de Garona needs, and is able to hold 52 BWR assemblies. It is comprised of a carbon steel forging body surrounded by a neutron shielding polymer, with two bolted lids and a basket with metal matrix composite neutron absorbing material and stainless steel plates. The cask was first approved for storage by CSN (Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear) on November 5th 2014 and for transportation the 11th June 2015.

The remaining 4 ENUN 52B casks will be delivered throughout May and June of this year. The auxiliary equipment needed for the cask loading operations have also been designed and manufactured by Ensa, and are in the NPP ready to be used both in the NPP and in the existing ISFSI. Cold tests are expected to be performed after summer, with no confirmed dates yet

Ensa is currently manufacturing 44 additional units of a revised version of the ENUN 52B cask, which together with the 5 existing units will be able to store the whole spent fuel inventory of Santa María de Garoña NPP, including high burnup and damaged fuel. An innovative shielding solution is being designed in order to dry storage the whole spent fuel inventory at the interim storage facility located at the NPP site, and initiate dismantling and decommissioning activities.