Dry Cask Storage and Transportation

Conceived in 1992, HI-STAR 100 is the nuclear industry’s first high-capacity, multi-purpose canister (MPC) technology-based system which is equally proficient at storing the spent nuclear fuel on an ISFSI pad, or at transporting its highly radioactive payload over land or water. HI-STAR 100 is engineered to accept one multi-purpose canister containing a 68-cell fuel basket for BWR fuel, a 24-cell flux-trap or a 32-cell non-flux trap fuel basket for PWR fuel.

In contrast to HI-STAR 100, HI-STORM 100 (acronym for Holtec International Storage Module) is strictly a storage device, albeit an extremely rugged and robust one. Conceptualized in 1993, HI-STORM is a vertical ventilated system that promotes passive air cooling of the stored canister. HI-STORM is available in multiple models. They are:

• Above-ground, Free-standing
• Above-ground, Anchored
• Below Ground

All model configurations hold the canister in a vertical configuration that minimizes skyshine and facilitates convenient installation or removal of the canister.

HI-STORM and HI-STAR are entirely modular storage devices; all HI-STAR 100 and HI-STORM 100 components are completely compatible. While HI-STAR’s excellence resides in its versatility, HI-STORM is engineered for maximum shielding. With an all-structural steel skeleton and twenty-six inches of concrete enclosed in the annular space between two concentric ductile metallic shells, HI-STORM 100 embodies the best attributes of metal and concrete. Unlike HI-STAR 100, however, HI-STORM 100 cannot be placed in the cask pit; loading of the fuel in the MPC must be carried out using another device named HI-TRAC (acronym for Holtec International Transfer Cask).

HI-TRAC is an essential adjunct to HI-STORM. HI-TRAC is designed to optimize shielding and ease decontamination during loading and unloading operations. The design bases of the HI-STORM 100 and HI-STAR 100 systems bound all spent nuclear fuel characteristics, site design conditions and interfaces that exist in the vast majority of power reactor sites in the U.S. and abroad.

Both HI-STAR 100 and HI-STORM 100 Systems have common attributes which make them ideal MPC systems for deployment worldwide, for example, both are engineered to provide maximum immunity against surface contamination during wet loading of fuel.

In 1999, Holtec International received a CoC under 10CFR Part 71 (transport) for our multi-purpose canister (MPC) technology-based HI-STAR 100 System and under 10CFR Part 72 (storage), giving the nuclear industry its first certified dual-purpose system with MPC technology. The CoC and SER for the HI-STORM 100 System under 10CFR Part 72 were issued on May 1, 2000 with the effective date of May 31, 2000.