The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it had approved a 40-year license for dry spent-fuel storage at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Lusby, Md.
Although Exelon Generation is responsibility for periodic inspections and maintaining the integrity of the spent fuel installation, the new expiration date for the license is now Nov. 30, 2052, the agency said.
For the past two years, the plant had been operating with an extension on its first license, which would have expired Nov. 30, 2012. Having applied for a new license in 2010, the plant was granted the extension while regulators reviewed the case.
There are now 71 independent spent fuel storage facilities in the United States.
“We are confident that Calvert Cliffs’ dry cask storage systems meet the NRC’s strict standards and will be able to store spent fuel safely over the extended period of the renewed license,” said Mark Lombard, director of the NRC’s Division of Spent Fuel Management in a statement.
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