Uranium hexafluoride packaging tiedown systems overview at Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio
- Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States). Central Engineering
The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) conducts those operations that are necessary for the production, packaging, and shipment of enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF{sub 6}). Uranium hexafluoride enriched greater than 1.0 wt percent {sup 235}U shall be packaged in accordance with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations of Title 49 CFR Parts 173 and 178, or in US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or US Department of Energy (DOE) certified package designs. Concerns have been expressed regarding the various tiedown methods and condition of the trailers being used by some shippers/carriers for international transport of the UF{sub 6} cylinders/overpacks. The generally accepted method for securing the overpack during shipment is to bolt its base to the trailer bed. International shipments typically are not made using dedicated trailers, and numerous trailers have been received at PORTS with improperly and potentially dangerously secured overpacks. Also, many trailers have not been loaded at PORTS for international shipment because of mechanical problems, rotten flooring, bald tires, no brakes or brake lights, or broken springs. Because of the concerns about international shipments, the US Department of Energy-Headquarters (DOE-HQ) Office of Nuclear Energy, through DOE-HQ Transportation Management Division, requested Westinghouse Hanford Company to review UF{sub 6} packaging tiedown and shipping practices used by PORTS, and where possible and appropriate, provide recommendations for enhancing these practices. Consequently, a team of two individuals from Westinghouse Hanford visited PORTS on March 5 and 6, 1990, for the purpose of conducting this review. The paper provides a brief discussion of the review activities and a summary of the resulting findings and recommendations. A detailed reporting of the review is documented in Reference 4 [Report No. WHC-MR-0233].
- OSTI ID:
- 61435
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-930749-; TRN: IM9526%%217
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 34. annual meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, Scottsdale, AZ (United States), 18-21 Jul 1993; Other Information: PBD: 1993; Related Information: Is Part Of Nuclear materials management. 34th Annual meeting proceedings: Volume 22; PB: 1190 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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