Officials of the Mitsubishi Electric Co. (Japan), their US subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. (MEPPI) and Holtec (pictured above) held strategic alliance discussions at the Holtec Technology Campus in Camden, New Jersey to reinforce their resolve to forge ahead with renewed vigor to complete the licensing of SMR-160 and to broaden their cooperation.
Holtec International is pleased to announce the successful loading this past week of its 1,000th dry spent fuel storage system. Number 1,000 was the third cask in the ongoing loading campaign by Exelon at LaSalle County Nuclear Generating Station, bringing the total number of Holtec casks completed by Exelon to 224. The campaign continues on schedule, with low dose, no injuries and no human-performance events. LaSalle utilizes the Holtec HI-STORM 100 System with the MPC-68M (Multi-Purpose Canister), which incorporates the state-of-the-art Metamic HT basket for maximum heat rejection capabilities.
We are pleased to share with our readers astonishing improvements that have taken place in every metric of worker health and safety in our manufacturing facilities in the past two years. In 2015, Holtec began a focused strategic initiative to improve the environmental and occupational health and safety performance at all of the Company’s manufacturing divisions. Our primary focus was to enhance the quality of our safety program to proactively manage hazards in order to prevent incidents from occurring in the first place. The fundamental elements of our program improvements focused on employee participation, hazard recognition and mitigation, task oriented safety training, and safety procedures that exceed regulatory requirements and include best practices.
In 2019, Ukraine will become the first country to have a fully-operational Consolidated Interim Storage facility (in the north of the country in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone). Used fuel from the country’s nine VVER reactors (Rivne, Khmelnitsky, and South Ukraine) operated by the national utility NAEK Energoatom will be packaged in all-welded multi-purpose canisters and transported to the Country’s centralized fuel storage facility in lieu of being shipped to Russia at a huge annual (recurring) cost to Ukraine’s treasury (some $200 million). A major milestone was reached last week when twelve specialists from Energoatom and the country’s regulatory authority bore down on Holtec’s manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey, where the capital equipment and systems for the project are being fabricated.
On March 31, 2017, Holtec International completed phase one of the HI-STORE CIS (Consolidated Interim Storage) program by submitting the initial licensing request package to the USNRC. We are pleased to announce the start of the second phase of the licensing program which is focused on expanding the scope of HI-STORE CIS facility to hold the multitude of canister types (beyond those being certified in the just-submitted request) that are currently in-use at the nation’s nuclear plant sites. Through a series of license amendment requests, Holtec plans to expand HI-STORE CIS’ authorized contents to include every canister supplied by the present and historical suppliers to US plants (viz., Areva, Pacific Nuclear, Vectra, NAC, Sierra Nuclear, BNFL Solutions & Westinghouse).
The new Holtec Manufacturing Facility in Camden has reached a milestone this week with the installation of a massive set of turning rolls. This machine takes flat steel plates up to 10 inches thick and 13 feet wide and rolls them into perfect cylinders. These cylinders are used in various product that Holtec manufactures for the Nuclear Industry.
This machine has the largest turning rolls in North America, and the machine itself weights nearly a million pounds. The machine was manufactured in Italy over the last 2 years and shipped to Camden in many sea containers. It sits in a pit constructed specifically for the machine that is 22 feet deep, supported by 6 feet of concrete and pilings going down 80 feet to bedrock.
The machine installation was completed with the insertion of the top roller, a 54” diameter solid steel forging weighting in at 178,000 pounds. A special 500-ton crane was brought in to set this large piece.
Along with the other large machines being installed at Holtec, this machine provides Holtec with capabilities that no other company can match. These unique capabilities are what sets Holtec apart as the leader in the Nuclear Industry.
Dear Camden Residents:
Holtec International’s new Camden Technology Center was built in part as a commitment by Holtec to make well-paying jobs available to residents in the Camden area that will provide gainful employment and financial security. Already, many Camden residents have taken advantage of this opportunity to enjoy steady employment, excellent health benefits, generous Paid Time Off, and paid holidays. There are still many employment opportunities available to include machinist, machine operators, painters, welders, and laborers.
We are looking for responsible Camden residents to join the Holtec Team and encourage you to submit your updated resume to one of our open positions. Our career page is located at www.holtecinternational.com or you can submit your resume directly to recruiting@holtec.com. If you have questions contact us at (856) 797-0900, Ext. 3022. We look forward to hearing from you.
Jack C. Johnston
Corporate Manager of Human Resources
Under a newly signed contract, Holtec International will develop the BWR version of its extensively tested and validated Type B(U)F cask for PWR fuel, known as HI-STAR 180. HI-STAR 180 is a uniquely capable cask certified to transport spent nuclear fuel containing both uranium oxide and mixed-oxide fuel types for modern fuel cycles [32 kW Heat load/66GWD/MTU burn-up]. Development of the HI-STAR 180 was sponsored by AXPO starting in 2006 for Beznau NPP. It was licensed in 2009 by the USNRC and renewed in 2014 and is under fabrication at Holtec Manufacturing Division (HMD) under a controlled authorization regimen from ENSI (the Swiss regulator). As is well-known, HMD is a pre-eminent manufacturer of nuclear components and systems and holds the entire complement of ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code stamps, as well as the ISO-3834-2 certification (necessary for fabricating the wide variety of nuclear plant weldments supplied by Holtec to many international customers).
