High Level Wastes

The Parliament considers that the start-up of a Centralised Temporary Storage facility for spent fuel and high level wastes constitutes a priority objective for the country.

• Description of High Level Wastes
• Transport and storage of High Level Wastes
• Reference legislation
• Centralised Temporary Storage (CTS) Project

Description of High Level Wastes

High level wastes consist basically of the spent fuel from nuclear reactors and other materials with high levels of radioactivity, normally with an appreciable content of long-lived radionuclides.

A percentage of the electricity consumed in Spain comes from the 8 nuclear reactors currently in operation in the country.

Transport and storage of High Level Wastes

Metallic cask for the transport of spent fuel.

Transport

At present high level wastes are not transported in Spain, since they remain in pools or in containers at the power plant sites.

In view of the forthcoming creation of a Spanish Centralised Temporary Storage facility, the need arises to draw up a Transport Plan for the high level wastes to be taken from the nuclear power plants to the new installation. There are international regulations governing this activity: the European Agreement on the Road Transport of Hazardous Goods (ADR) and the safety guide of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The use of suitable casks specific transport practices minimises or entirely removes the risks associated with the transfer of this type of wastes, bringing it into line with the contingencies to which any type of goods are exposed during transport.

Storage in pools

Once unloaded from the nuclear reactor, the spent fuel is temporarily stored in pools at the site of the nuclear power plants at which it was produced.

Storage in casks

The casks for the temporary storage of spent fuel may be metallic or of concrete. In Spain there are two nuclear power plants at which this system is used: Trillo and José Cabrera.

Reference legislation

High level waste management activities are governed by a set of laws included in the legislation in force.

Centralised Temporary Storage (CTS) Project

The Centralised Temporary Storage facility is an installation designed to house the spent fuel from the nuclear power plants and the high level wastes produced in Spain (total material to be stored 12,816 m3) at a single location. The facility does not generate energy and produces no contamination.

The facility will be built above ground and will house these materials under dry conditions for a period of 60 years by means of a system of modular spaces. The processes required for the interim management of all the high level radioactive wastes will be centralised at this facility.

To date these wastes have been kept in the plant pools; however, for strategic and economic reasons the decision was taken to develop an integral solution providing the following advantages:

• Minimisation of the number of nuclear facilities.
• Optimisation of the human and economic resources required for the security and radiological safety of the spent fuel by centralising this material at one single location.
• Solution to the need to manage spent fuel that has existed since the start-up of the first nuclear power plant (1968).
• This is a tried and tested installation that is in operation in the most advanced countries.
• It takes into account the progress made in research before opting for definitive solutions.

Acceda al contenido alternativo

The Centralised Temporary Storage facility will be integrated in a major Technology Park. This industrial complex will take advantage of the activities of the facility to promote Research, Development and Innovation programmes.

The Technology Park will contribute to the creation of scientific infrastructures and will place Spain at the forefront of energy-related and environmental research.

The area surrounding the facility will benefit directly and indirectly from this project.

Some 300 jobs will be created during the construction of the CTS facility and it will guarantee more than a hundred stable jobs for 60 years.

The international projection of the complex will attract a large number of national and overseas researchers and visitors and will promote the development of service companies.

For local industry it will also be an opportunity for projection and the specialist training of professionals. A business nursery will be set up for this purpose.