Leakage testing of packagings with three-O-ring closure seals
- Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
- Eagle Research Group, Inc., Germantown, MD (United States)
- Dept. of Energy, Germantown, MD (United States). Office of Transportation, Emergency Management and Analytical Services
Both the American National Standard for Radioactive Materials--Leakage Tests on Packages for Shipment (ANSI N14.5) and the ISO 12807:1996 Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials--Leakage Testing on Packages provide guidance for leakage rate testing to show that a particular packaging complies with regulatory requirements; both also provide guidance for determining appropriate acceptance criteria. Recent radioactive packaging designs have incorporated three-O-ring closure seals, the middle O-ring being the containment seal. These designs have the potential for false positive results in leakage rate tests. The volume between the containment O-ring and the inner O-ring is used for the helium gas required for the leakage rate tests, in order to reduce both the amount of helium used and the time required to conduct the tests. A leak detector samples the evacuated volume between the outer O-ring and the containment O-ring. False positive results can have two causes: a large leakage in the containment seal or leakage in the inner seal. This paper describes the problem, together with possible solutions and areas that should be addressed in a Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) before a particular packaging design can be certified for transport. Ultimately, the SARP should provide justification that the requirements for leakage rate testing procedures, including the length of time needed to conduct the tests, will ensure that the containment closure seal is properly tested.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 650269
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/ET/CP-93397; CONF-980507-; ON: DE98050328; TRN: 98:010031
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: PATRAM `98: 12. international conference on packaging and transportation of radioactive material, Paris (France), 10-15 May 1998; Other Information: PBD: Oct 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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