The order for two casks, suitable for either transport or storage of irradiated fuel, has been won in Spain by Equipos Nucleares SA (ENSA) after a worldwide bidding process.
The contract, awarded by Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radioactivos (ENRESA), the Spanish state company for radwaste management, includes the option for the supply of a further six, to be exercised by ENRESA in 2000. The casks will hold up to 21 PWR elements of the type designed for the Trillo nuclear plant. This has a maximum burnup of 40 000 MWd/tU, a maximum initial enrichment of 4%, and five-years cooling time. The casks received the formal approval of the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Energy last October.
ENSA designed the cask under the terms of a licence agreement signed between the company and NAC, which carried out the nuclear calculations and was responsible for the overall design review.
