RD&D-Programme 2004 - SKB

Each company and organization that carries out transport of what is defined as dangerous
goods must have a safety adviser within the organization. This person must be familiar with the
applicable rules and be the company’s resident expert on related matters. In SKB, this position
is currently held by the same person who has overall operational responsibility for transport to
Clab and SFR.
9.4.3 Application to coming shipments
If shipments of canisters were to commence today, SKB would thus have to apply for a permit
to transport a new kind of cask with the existing transportation system in addition to those for
which today’s permits apply.
Transport from the encapsulation plant to the deep repository must naturally comply with
applicable transport rules. This is simplified by the fact that all transport takes place under
SKB’s own auspices. We will have our own handling instructions and standardized shipping
documents and computer files.
Shipments of canisters must comply with the same principles regarding division of responsibilities,
scheduling, pre-notification, hand-over and physical protection as fuel shipments to Clab.
The contents of each canister are determined long before encapsulation. The pre-notification
(consignment notification) specifies which canisters are to be transported. A canister that is
approved for sealing in the encapsulation plant is simultaneously approved for transport to
deposition. The transport casks for canisters are designed for a canister with design-basis
contents (activity content, decay heat, etc). The detailed documentation on each canister and
its contents is carefully registered, but is of no interest during transport.
9.4.4 Safeguards
The requirements on safeguards entail that detailed records must be kept of all nuclear materials.
After encapsulation the canister is the smallest unit. The record-keeping is based on the registers
that exist today in Clab in SKB’s computerized fuel registers.
From a safeguards viewpoint, transport of copper canisters will take place in the same manner as
today’s shipments of spent nuclear fuel from the nuclear power plants to Clab. The documents
required for safeguards will be issued and sent from the encapsulation plant/Clab (common
MBA) to the recipient, which is the deep repository (own MBA) and to the competent bodies,
SKI and Euratom. Transport plans and pre-notifications for shipments of canisters to the deep
repository will also be reported to SKI and Euratom in good time before transport.
The administrative measures needed for safeguards take place before and after the shipment
between the encapsulation plant and the deep repository.
9.5 Programme
9.5.1 Transportation system in operation
SKB’s transportation system, which is used today for transport of spent nuclear fuel and spent
core components from the nuclear power plants to Clab and of waste from the nuclear power
plants and Studsvik to SFR, will continue with this as long as spent fuel and waste are produced.
A temporary interruption in the fuel shipments is being made during the second and third
quarters of 2004 while Clab stage 2 is being commissioned.
The equipment in the transportation system is maintained regularly and modernized as needed.
M/s Sigyn is maintained so that the ship can be in full operation at least until 2010. Plans call
for the replacement of m/s Sigyn with another ship. The requirements on the new ship have not
110 RD&D-Programme 2004