Criticality Analysis of TRU Waste Storage Arrays at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Conference · Sun Jun 04 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:5172586

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a facility built to demonstrate the safe storage of defense-generated transuranic (TRU) waste in an underground salt mine. The waste will consist mainly of surface-contaminated clothing, wipes, wrappings, tools, as well as sludges and other waste forms. The radioactive material in the waste is predominately ²³⁹Pu; however, other fissile materials may be contained in absorbent mixtures. The waste is grouped into two categories. Contact-handled (CH) waste will be stored in 55-gal steel drums or in steel boxes. The drums and boxes, which can be intermixed, will be stored in large underground rooms. Remotely handled (RH) waste will be stored in specially designed 10-ft-long cylindrical steel canisters. The RH canisters will be examined in a hot-cell area before being transported into the mine and placed into holed drilled into the walls of the underground storage rooms. Criticality of the CH waste storage drums and boxes and the RH canisters is prevented by the maximum fissile loading requirements per container and the sizes of the handling/storage arrays. Analysis has shown that the k_eff limit of 0.95 is met with the storage of large loadings of fissile material at the WIPP facility while credible or realistic assumptions still provide a large degree of conservatism.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
• OSTI ID: 5172586
• Report Number(s): CONF-890604--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Journal Volume: 59
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
054000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
42 ENGINEERING
420203* -- Engineering-- Handling Equipment & Procedures
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ACTINIDES
ALLOYS
CLOTHING
CONTAINERS
CONTAMINATION
CONTROL
CRITICALITY
CROSS SECTIONS
Contact-Handled (CH) Waste
DESIGN
Defense-Generated Transuranic (TRU) Waste
ELEMENTS
FISSILE MATERIALS
FISSIONABLE MATERIALS
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GROUP THEORY
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICS
METALS
MULTIPLICATION FACTORS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
PILOT PLANTS
PLUTONIUM
PROCESSING
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
Remotely Handled (RH) Waste
SAFETY
SENSITIVITY
STEELS
STORAGE
SURFACE CONTAMINATION
TRANSURANIUM COMPOUNDS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
UNDERGROUND STORAGE
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WIPP
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)