US-based Waste Control Specialists (WCS) has named AREVA Inc. as the exclusive primary subcontractor for the design, development, construction, operation and maintenance of the proposed WCS Consolidated Interim Storage Facility that it is hoping to build in West Texas.
AREVA will also offer services to support the transportation of nuclear materials to and from the facility and jointly work with WCS to support the licence application process.
Through the agreement, WCS and AREVA have the option to offer bundled services to the Department of Energy for secure greater-than-Class-C and high-level waste removal, transportation, and interim storage. Greater than Class C wastes consists of activated metals, sealed sources, and
contaminated trash. The radionuclides in these wastes are primarily caesium-137 and americium-241.
"As debate continues about siting a permanent used fuel repository, the value of the proposed WCS community-supported interim storage facility is a near-term, economically viable option for used fuel management in the United States," said Mike McMahon, senior vice president and CISF project director for AREVA Inc.
WCS announced in February that it intends to submit a licence application to the US nuclear regulator in April 2016 for an interim spent fuelstorage facility to be built on its 14,000-acre Andrews site in west Texas, which is currently home to two low-level waste disposal facilities.
The CISF could be ready to begin storing used fuel by the end of 2020.
In a separate project Holtec International and the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance have announced plans to establish an interim used fuel storage facility in New Mexico.
Image: Waste Control Specialists LLC
