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Published: 1979

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The General Electric Company is providing technical support to Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories in the analysis of the design, operation, and maintenance experience in the handling of nuclear fuel at the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Facility. The purpose of this report is to provide a description of spent fuel handling activities and systems, and an analysis of the storage performance as developed over the seven year operational history of the Morris Operation. Design considerations and performance are analyzed for both the basin and key supporting systems. The bases for this analysis are the provisions for containing radioactive by-product materials, for shielding from the radiation they emit, and for preventing the formation of a critical array. These provisions have been met effectively over the history of storage at Morris. The release of radioactive materials is minimized by the protection of the cladding integrity, the containment of the basin water, the removal of radioactive and other contaminants from the water, and by filtering and then dispersing the basin air. Four auxiliary systems are provided to accomplish this, the basin leak detection system, the filter, the coolers, and the building ventilation system. This successful history notwithstanding, action to reduce personnel exposure, to improve fuel handling reliability and to lessen the potential for accidents continues to be taken.