Used Fuel Storage

Orano TN provides superior quality NUHOMS used nuclear fuel dry storage systems, including dry shielded canisters that are built of durable stainless steel at our TN Fabrication facility in North Carolina. Our concrete overpacks are called Horizontal Storage Modules, and are either cast on site or built at our American manufacturer and shipped to the site for installation.

Safe used fuel management is not just about purchasing a storage system… It is about a coordinated team of construction specialists, engineers, and trained and practiced 'industry best' used fuel loading teams. Orano's safe used fuel management program features state-of-the-art aging management technologies and services, and a reliable and safe transport system to move the fuel offsite.

With these capabilities and custom design, Orano offers all services needed to manage used nuclear fuel safely and efficiently from start to finish.

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NUHOMS Dry Storage Systems

Our horizontal NUHOMS^® used fuel storage system has the best demonstrated shielding in the industry. The NUHOMS system offers significant life cycle cost savings in plant integration, low risk in the pool transfer process and infrastructure savings when compared to other available systems.

Highest Shielding

State-of-the-art, high-performance stainless steel canisters are engineered to extremely conservative technical specifications for heat conductivity that take into account all possible risks, no matter how farfetched. The canisters feature redundant welded lids, state-of-the-art precision welding procedures, low risk horizontal transfer processes, and gap-free side-by-side arrangement of the massive concrete storage modules. These aspects of the system combine to make NUHOMS, by far, the system proven to be safe and low-risk… at more than 30 sites across the nation.

Earthquake Resistant

NUHOMS is engineered for 1.0g horizontal acceleration and 1.0g vertical acceleration, and is a proven system that has withstood significant earthquakes. Its low profile and array structure and horizontal position ensure stability, thus the NUHOMS system is the highest seismically qualified dry fuel storage system in the world. As a reference point, people have trouble standing at 0.02g acceleration.

Corrosion Resistant

NUHOMS canisters are made of high-performance stainless steel that is corrosion-resistant and up to 5/8" thick. For ocean-side marine environments, the duplex stainless steel option provides a robust barrier against chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking, pitting and crevice corrosion. The state-of-the-art engineering and precision fabrication ensure long-term integrity of the shielding properties… keeping communities and workers safe.

Complete Inspection

As part of an Aging Management Program (AMP), the NUHOMSmodule is designed to enable a 100% inspection of the stored canister's surface and the inside of the module using crawler robots. To date, inspections have shown no material degradation or concerns with the NUHOMS canisters or modules after more than 20 years of operation.

Flooding and Tornado Low Risk

NUHOMS has successfully and safely operated through tornado events. Our impact design analysis criteria examples include withstanding the impacts of a 276-pound wooden utility pole traveling more than 200 MPH, a 1,500-pound steel pipe traveling more than 140 MPH and a 4,000-pound automobile traveling more than 195 MPH.

Accessible and Retrievable

Horizontal, above-ground storage modules are the easiest to access and monitor long-term and are less costly to maintain. Our aging management technologies are setting the standard for the industry and are key to ensuring continuous safety of canisters for the long-term. NUHOMS canisters are easy to retrieve and are the least risky to move due to their more stable horizontal orientation. This drives lower doses during the fuel loading process as it takes less time to move the canister, and it enables future easy retrieval and transport of the fuel off site.

NUHOMS MATRIX Storage Module

The innovative two-level NUHOMS MATRIX concrete overpack design for used nuclear fuel storage reduces the footprint requirements of an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) by as much as 45% when compared to existing dry storage technologies.

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NUHOMS EOS Canister

Orano's NUHOMS EOS 37PTH and 89BTH Dry Shielded Canisters (DSC) provide customers with a high-capacity, high-burnup, and high-heat load system for PWR and BWR dry used fuel storage needs.

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Top 10 FAQs

During our 50+ years of experience safely managing used nuclear fuel, we have advanced safe used nuclear fuel storage technology significantly with Orano’s NUclear HOrizontal Modular Storage (NUHOMS®) system.

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Leasing

Orano leases its NUHOMS Transfer System and NUHOMS Ancillary Equipment including the NUHOMS Transfer Trailer, the NUHOMS Transfer Casks (OS 200 and OS199), the NUHOMS Vacuum Drying System (VDS) and the NUHOMS Automated Welding system (AWS). Leasing is one flexible option for customers to accommodate budget restraints, as needed.

Orano includes in its leasing offer the use of Orano technicians to ensure the safe and streamlined operation of the equipment during the loading campaign.

While most Orano customers do purchase their NUHOMS Transfer System, leasing the NUHOMS Transfer System or its components can offer a more economical route for some nuclear power plants, depending their loading programs.