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Preparation, lifting, and loading of the Shippingport reactor pressure vessel/neutron shield tank package

Conference · · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA)
OSTI ID:5321641
The Shippingport atomic power station (SAPS) has provided many firsts for the nuclear industry: In 1957, Shippingport demonstrated the safe peacetime use of nuclear energy as the first nuclear power plant to produce electricity for a public utility. In 1976, following reactor conversion to a light water breeder reactor (LWBR), Shippingport demonstrated that the breeder principle can be safely applied in a light water reactor. In 1985, following end-of-life testing and defueling, the Shippingport Station Decommissioning Project (SSDP) commenced physical decommissioning to demonstrate that the final stage of a nuclear plant life cycle, decommissioning, can be performed both safely and cost-effectively. The shipment of the shielded irradiated reactor pressure vessel/neutron shield tank (RPV/NST) package from Shippingport, Pennsylvania, to Richland, Washington, by barge as a single package was the largest nonmilitary radioactive shipment ever made. This paper discusses the basis for the one-piece removal option, describes how the RPV/NST was prepared to comply with government regulations for shipping radioactive material, and the methods utilized to lift the RPV/NST and load it onto a barge for its subsequent shipment to Richland, Washington.
OSTI ID:
5321641
Report Number(s):
CONF-890604--
Conference Information:
Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA) Journal Volume: 59
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English