Surveillance of Quality Assurance in the Manufacture of Transport and Storage Casks for Spent Fuel and High-level Waste

The purpose of quality assurance measures in the manufacture of packaging for radioactive materials is to ensure that the series sample conforms to the design that was authorised in the design approval certificate and fulfils all the design requirements. In Germany, the basis of this process is TRV 006 (Technical Rules Traffic). This describes the manufacturing requirements and a system of supervision for the production process. Packaging components are divided into three levels of classification according to their importance for safety. Compliance with the requirements of the highest classification level is supervised directly by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) as the German competent authority or to a great extent by consulted experts. In this paper an example will be given of the qualification of a foundry for the production of cask bodies made of ductile cast iron. The results will be presented. Production based on the parts list and drawings stated in the design approval certificate for the packaging is supervised and documented by a quality assurance programme. This is pre-checked and released by BAM. For all instances of non-conformity in manufacturing, nonconformance reports have to be issued by the manufacturer and evaluated by BAM. These are itemised in the acceptance certificate, which certifies the conformity of the series sample with the approved design. Details of this supervision system, experience with several hundred manufactured casks and results will be presented.