Testing in support of on-site storage of residues in the Pipe Overpack Container

The disposition of the large back-log of plutonium residues at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (Rocky Flats) will require interim storage and subsequent shipment to a waste repository. Current plans call for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the transportation to WIPP in the TRUPACT-II. The transportation phase will require the residues to be packaged in a container that is more robust than a standard 55-gallon waste drum. Rocky Flats has designed the Pipe Overpack Container to meet this need. It is desirable to use this same waste packaging for interim on-site storage in non-hardened buildings. To meet the safety concerns for this storage the Pipe Overpack Container has been subjected to a series of tests at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition to the tests required to qualify the Pipe Overpack Container as a waste container for shipment in the TRUPACT-II several tests were performed solely for the purpose of qualifying the container for interim storage. This report will describe these tests and the packages response to the tests. 12 figs., 3 tabs

Experimental determination of the shipboard fire environment for simulated radioactive material packages

A series of eight fire tests with simulated radioactive material shipping containers aboard the test ship Mayo Lykes, a break-bulk freighter, is described. The tests simulate three basic types of fires: engine room fires, cargo fires and open pool fires. Detailed results from the tests include temperatures, heat fluxes and air flows measured during the fires. The first examination of the results indicates that shipboard fires are not significantly different from fires encountered in land transport. 13 refs., 15 figs., 11 tabs

Testing in support of transportation of residues in the pipe overpack container

The disposition of the large back-log of plutonium residues at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (Rocky Flats) will require interim storage and subsequent shipment to a waste repository. Current plants call for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the transportation to WIPP in the TRUPACT-II. The transportation phase will require the residues to be packaged in a container that is more robust than a standard 55-gallon waste drum. Rocky Flats has designed the Pipe Overpack Container to meet this need. The tests described here were performed to qualify the Pipe Overpack Container as a waste container for shipment in the TRUPACT-II. Using a more robust container will assure the fissile materials in each container can not be mixed with the fissile material from the other containers and will provide criticality control. This will allow an increase in the payload of the TRUPACT-II from 325 fissile gram equivalents to 2,800 fissile gram equivalents

Determination of Fire Enviroment in Stacked Cargo Containers with Radioactive Materials Packages

Results from a Fire Test with a three-by-three stack of standard 6 m long International Standards Organization shipping containers containing combustible fuels and empty radioactive materials packages are reported and discussed. The stack is intended to simulate fire conditions that could occur during on-deck stowage on container cargo ships. The fire is initated by locating the container stack adjacent to a 9.8 x 6 m pool fire. Temperatures of both cargoes (empty and simulated radioactive materials packages) and containers are recorded and reported. Observations on the duration, intensity and spread of the fire are discussed. Based on the results, models for simulation of fire exposure of radioactive materials packages in such fires are suggested

Experimental ship fire measurements with simulated radioactive cargo

Results from a series of eight test fires ranging in size from 2.2 to 18.8 MW conducted aboard the Coast Guard fire test ship Mayo Lykes at Mobile, Alabama are presented and discussed. Tests aboard the break bulk type cargo ship consisted of heptane spray fires simulating engine room and galley fires, wood crib fires simulating cargo hold fires, and pool fires staged for comparison to land based regulatory fire results. Primary instrumentation for the tests consisted of two pipe calorimeters that simulated a typical package shape for radioactive materials packages