Dry storage of used nuclear fuel is a common practice for on-site fuel storage due to the lack of an interim or permanent repository site and is likely to be used for decades to come. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) along with many other organizations are collectively developing canister NDE techniques in collaboration with key nuclear industry stakeholders that may be deployed in-situ to evaluate the condition of canisters.

Due to the limited access, elevated temperatures, and radiation levels, traditional deployment methods are unsuitable for the inspection of dry cask systems. Therefore, a significant focus of the work will also be to support robotic inspection deployment systems to provide suitable access to the canister surface for the NDE tools.

This paper will discuss some recent field experiences in developing and demonstrating this type of inspection technique at ISFSI’s in the United States.