Adequacy of TRUPACT-I design for transporting contact-handled transuranic wastes to WIPP
Technical Report
·
OSTI ID:5177008
TRUPACT I is the shipping container designed by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to transport contact-handled transuranic (CH-TRU) radioactive waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico. Approximately 24,000 shipments will be required to transport the 6 million cubic feet of waste to WIPP over a 20-year period. TRUPACT I was designed with two features that do not meet the NRC and DOT transportation regulations: (1) it has only single containment, which is not permitted for most forms of radioactive material if the shipment contains 20 Ci of plutonium; and (2) the waste storage cavity is continuously vented through filters to the atmosphere. The evaluation addressed these two design features as well as the problem of hydrogen gas generation in the wastes and the limits of radioactive materials proposed by DOE for a TRUPACT shipment. EEG recommends that TRUPACT-I not be certified for transporting any waste to WIPP unless the vents are sealed and the package is limited to 20 Ci of plutonium per load. We further recommend that: (1) the TRUPACT be redesigned to include double containment and eliminate continuous venting; (2) the use of methods other than venting for hydrogen gas control be seriously considered; and (3) the maximum curie content in a TRUPACT be limited to about 2,000 Ci.
- Research Organization:
- New Mexico Health and Environment Dept., Santa Fe (USA). Environmental Evaluation Group
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-78AL10752
- OSTI ID:
- 5177008
- Report Number(s):
- EEG-33; ON: DE87000006
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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