Support of Removal of VVR-K Reactor SFA By Air

S. Komarov, A. Ivashchenko (Sosny R&D Company), P. Chakrov, D. Nakipov (INP, Kazakhstan), J. Dewes (SRNL, USA)

The 9th Technical Meeting on Lessons Learned from the RRRFR Programme, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 3-5 June 2015

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In 2014, the next two batches of VVR-K reactor SFAs containing highly enriched uranium were removed from the Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP, Almaty, Kazakhstan) to Russia for reprocessing under RRRFR program. It was the first time the fuel of this reactor was shipped by air.

The use of an aircraft required a range of corresponding preparatory work: safety analysis in compliance with more strict requirements, preparation of additional approving documents, making-up transport overpacks with TUK-19 casks on the basis of 20-foot ISO containers, development of a logistic plan, and organization of a multi-modal shipment.

The report describes the peculiarities of preparation and implementation of VVR-K irradiated nuclear fuel air shipment, presents the main results of the implemented activities, conclusions and recommendations to improve their efficiency. The principle advantages of air transport are vividly described: significant reduction of both the transportation time and overland sections of the route, which provides the best physical protection of the nuclear material.