A new shipping container for an intense neutron emitter
Californium-252 is an intense neutron emitter (2.34 {times} 10{sup 12} n/s{center_dot}g) used in medicine, research, and industry. The western world`s sole source of this rare radioisotope is the Californium Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center (REDC). A project has been initiated at the REDC to design a new Type B Californium Shipping Container. This effort is essential for future transportation of californium to meet the needs of users all over the world. The shipping container must meet all requirements for transport by motor freight, air, vessel, and rail, both domestic and foreign. There are unique problems in the design, fabrication, and licensing of a new Type B shipping container that will accommodate up to 60 milligrams of californium-252. One of the first challenges in the design phase of the project is the selection of a material to shield the high neutron flux. The more stringent safety precautions of today`s world impel us to consider more exotic materials for such a purpose. The candidate materials must be examined not just for their neutron shielding properties, but also in conjunction with other properties such as thermal and structural requirements to withstand the hypothetical accident conditions. The design and building of such a container is a formidable task requiring much planning. The licensing process, with the complex, interactive federal codes, is a special challenge and may be the biggest on the project in terms of time and money.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 10160438
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9405109-10; ON: DE94013829
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Department of Energy defense programs packaging workshop,Knoxville, TN (United States),16-19 May 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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