The Safety Concerns of Spent-Fuel Pool Reracking in Taiwan’s Maanshan Nuclear Power Station

Taiwan’s Maanshan Nuclear Power Station (MNPS) consists of two pressurized water reactors [2775 MW(thermal)]. The reracking method has received licensing approval and has been successfully implemented by the Taiwan Power Company for MNPS to increase the spent-fuel storage capacity of each unit from 746 to 2160 fuel assemblies. MNPS is the only nuclear power station in the world that can store the accumulated spent-fuel assemblies from 40 yr of plant life in its on-site spent-fuel pool after reracking. The safety concerns regarding various aspects of this reracking project are presented. These safety concerns include thermal hydraulics, criticality, structure, radiation, and heavy loads.