The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a new 40-year licence to Progress Energy Carolinas for the dry-cask independent spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage installation at its HB Robinson plant near Florence, South Carolina.
This is the second dry-cask independent SNF storage installation to be re-licensed by the NRC after the agency re-licenced the installation at Dominion Generation’s Surry nuclear power plant in Virginia for 40 years earlier this year. Both licenses require inspections and strict monitoring to guard against the potential effects of ageing on the casks.
HB Robinson uses the NUHOMS horizontal storage module design. There are eight modules storing SNF at the site.
Storage of SNF in the dry casks is considered an interim measure until a permanent repository is available.
