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Anthony Small
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued the final licence to Holtec International to build and operate the Hi-STORE consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for used nuclear fuel in New Mexico.
In partnership with the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA), Holtec launched the initiative to set up the Hi-STORE CISF in 2015 at a site between Carlsbad and Hobbs in Lea County, New Mexico, on land owned by ELEA. It would be used for storing used nuclear fuel from US power reactors until a permanent repository is available. Used fuel, currently stored at reactor sites, would be transported by rail to the CSIF.
Holtec submitted its application with the NRC for a 40-year licence for the initial phase of the project, for up to 500 canisters holding some 8680 tonnes of used fuel, in 2017. The company said it expected this to increase to a total of 10,000 canisters in an additional 19 phases over the course of 20 years. Each expansion would require a licence amendment from the NRC.
The company said its "expected contribution to the community in southeast New Mexico will include additional economic development opportunities, including a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, a technology development centre and a global workforce training centre".
The final licence follows the NRC's 2022 approval of a final Environmental Impact Statement. Holtec says that "the strength-welded and hermetically closed canisters are designed, qualified and tested to maintain their integrity and prevent the release of radioactive material under the most adverse accident scenarios postulated by NRC regulations for both storage and transportation".
Holtec President and CEO Kris Singh said solving the issue of used fuel "is critical to sustain the rise of nuclear power". He added: "The licensing of HI-STORE CISF should be viewed as the triumph of private perseverance in the service of public purpose. We thank the nuclear-savvy communities of the southeast New Mexico region and their visionary leaders who have welcomed us to bring our technologies to create environmentally benign and well-paying jobs, and help diversify the region's economy thus fostering a stable economic base."
The project will generate around 400 jobs and bring around USD3 billion into the area, said Ed Mayer, programme director for the Hi-STORE CISF. "Thanks to the local support, we have persevered for the past eight years to license Hi-STORE in spite of variable enthusiasm from the State's authorities. Holtec and ELEA are proud to have worked together to eliminate the most formidable barrier to the renaissance of nuclear energy that our country faces today."
The CISF will use Holtec's Hi-STORE UMAX below-ground storage system which it says provides "ultimate protection" from incidents such as plane crashes or airborne missiles and has "negligible environmental impact". Holtec says that it is "so environmentally unobtrusive that all industrial activities such as fracking, drilling and potash mining in the area can continue without obstruction".
In its explanation of the facility, Holtec says that "in essence, CISF is an aging facility where the used fuel stored in 75 disparate locations in the country will be aggregated and allowed to undergo decay without any human intervention. The required decay period is reckoned to be several decades at which point the aged multi-purpose canisters can be safely" retrieved and interred in a future permanent repository for used nuclear fuel.
The NRC said in its announcement that it has previously issued similar licences for away-from-reactor storage installations: "Private Fuel Storage received a licence in 2006 but was never constructed. The NRC issued a licence in September 2021 to Interim Storage Partners LLC for a proposed storage site in Andrews, Texas. ISP has not yet initiated constructions."
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a Central Armed Police Force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. CISF's primary mission is to provide security to large institutions, be it Governmental or private.
It was set up under an Act of the Parliament of India on 15 March 1969 with a strength of 2,800. CISF was subsequently made an armed force of India by another Act of Parliament passed on 15 June 1983. Its current active strength is 148,371 personnel.[4] In April 2017, the government raised the sanctioned strength from 145,000 to 180,000 personnel. Recently the strength has been increased to 200,000.[5] Among its duties are guarding sensitive governmental buildings, the Delhi Metro, and providing airport security.[6] The CISF is governed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and its headquarters are at New Delhi.
CISF also provides consultancy services to private industries as well as other organisations within the Indian government. The scope of CISF's consulting practice includes security consulting and fire protection consulting.
It was set up under an act of Parliament on 10 March 1969 with a strength of around 2,800 personnel and as the name suggests, it was created for the better protection and security of industrial undertakings in the country. There was a limitation though, that industries to be provided protection should be wholly owned by the central government, which has since been modified so that the industries can now be a joint venture with the central government. However, the role of CISF has undergone diversification and it now also protects airports, seaports, metro rail networks, government buildings, heritage monuments (including the Taj Mahal and Red Fort), opium and alkaloids extractions, nuclear power plants, and space installations. It also specialises in VIP security as well as disaster management.At present CISF undertakes duties concerning internal security, elections, anti Naxal operations and every other duty that the Government of India gives them.
The CISF is headed by an Indian Police Service officer with the rank of Director-General, assisted by an IPS officer in the rank of Addl. Director-General. The force is divided into Nine Sectors (Airport, North, North-East, East, West, South, Training, South-East, Central) and also has a Fire Service Wing.
The Airport Sector is commanded by an IPS officer in the rank of Addl. Director-General, assisted by an Inspector-General. The Airport Sector is divided into a number of Field Formation Units, one for each airport. Units at major international airports are commanded by a Deputy Inspector-General or Commandant; units at smaller airports by a Deputy or Assistant Commandant. The other six Sectors are each commanded by an Inspector-General, who is assisted by a Deputy Inspector-General.
The seven regional Sectors are divided into Zones, each commanded by a Deputy Inspector-General. Within each Zone are a number of Units, each under the command of a Commandant, or a DIG for certain major Units. A Deputy Commandant serves as the second-in-command of most units, or as the head of a smaller unit. Within the Training Sector, the National Industrial Security Academy (NISA) is headed by an Inspector-General; the Fire Service Training Institute (FSTI) and six other recruit training centres are headed by Deputy Inspectors General.
The Financial Adviser of the CISF has been an Indian Revenue Service officer of the rank of Director and also has Dy Advisers from the Indian Audit and Accounts Service and Indian Civil Account Service.
Being a central Indian police agency and having high presence of Indian Police Service officers, CISF follows ranks and insignia similar to other police organisations in India. Non-gazetted (enrolled) officers and members use the same ranks as other Indian police forces.
The Indian Parliament on 25 February 2009, authorised the provision of Central Industrial Security Force security to private and cooperative establishments across the country for a fee with the passage of the CISF (Amendment) Bill, 2008.
The Bill, which was passed by Rajya Sabha on 19 February and Lok Sabha on 25 February 2009, also provides for deployment of CISF to protect Indian missions abroad and its participation in the UN peacekeeping operations.
CISF started providing security to the Infosys Bengaluru campus on 31 July 2009.[10] The Infosys in Mysuru, the Reliance Jamnagar Refinery and the Delhi Metro Airport Express Line are the latest [when?] additions to the list of private sector establishments to be placed under CISF cover. Manish Kumar Rai, Assistant Commandant, led the first contingent of CISF deployed at Infosys Bengaluru.
In 2016, the Patanjali Food and Herbal Park received 35 full-time, armed Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) commandos. The park was the eighth private institute in India to be guarded by paramilitary CISF forces.
The Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, has asked the Central Government to permanently deploy Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel on its campus.[12]
On 13 November 2019, Union Home Ministry has accorded its approval for deployment of the CISF at the Visva-Bharati University. It was also said that CISF will soon constitute a 'board of officers' who will conduct a security audit of the facility at Santiniketan.[13]
The CISF is in charge of airport security at all commercial airports in India. Airport security, in the past, was under the control of airport police (under the relevant state government). However, following the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999, the topic of handing over security of the airports to the CISF was first proposed. While this proposal lay low for the next two years, the central government decided to respond to the security threat faced by all major nations of the world after the 2001 terrorist attacks happened in the United States (11 September 2001) and decided to adopt the suggestion.[clarification needed] The Jaipur Airport was the first airport that came under the CISF's control on 3 February 2000. Following this, the majority of the commercial airports in India were brought under its purview.[14] As of February 2023, the CISF is protecting a total of 66 international and domestic airports in the country.[15][16]
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