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Title: Programmatic and technical requirements for the FMDP fresh MOX fuel transport package

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/631242· OSTI ID:631242

This document is intended to guide the designers of the package to all pertinent regulatory and other design requirements to help ensure the safe and efficient transport of the weapons-grade (WG) fresh MOX fuel under the Fissile Materials Disposition Program. To accomplish the disposition mission using MOX fuel, the unirradiated MOX fuel must be transported from the MOX fabrication facility to one or more commercial reactors. Because the unirradiated fuel contains large quantities of plutonium and is not sufficient radioactive to create a self-protecting barrier to deter the material from theft, DOE intends to use its fleet of safe secure trailers (SSTs) to provide the necessary safeguards and security for the material in transit. In addition to these requirements, transport of radioactive materials must comply with regulations of the Department of Transportation and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In particular, NRC requires that the packages must meet strict performance requirements. The requirements for shipment of MOX fuel (i.e., radioactive fissile materials) specify that the package design is certified by NRC to ensure the materials contained in the packages are not released and remain subcritical after undergoing a series of hypothetical accident condition tests. Packages that pass these tests are certified by NRC as a Type B fissile (BF) package. This document specifies the programmatic and technical design requirements a package must satisfy to transport the fresh MOX fuel assemblies.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Washington, DC (US)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-96OR22464
OSTI ID:
631242
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-13526; ON: DE98007040
Resource Relation:
Related Information: Supercedes report DE98007040
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English