Preliminary safety evaluation of a commercial-scale krypton-85 encapsulation facility

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:6890435

Christensen, A B; Tanner, J E; Knecht, D A

This paper demonstrates that a commercial-scale facility for encapsulating krypton-85 in zeolite-5A or glass at a 2000 MTHM per year nuclear fuel reprocessing plant can be designed to contain fragments and the 340 to 850 kCi krypton-85 inventory from an assumed catastrophic failure of the high pressure vessel. The vessel failure was assumed as a worst case and was not based on a detailed design evaluation or operating experience. The process design is based on existing commercial hot isostatic pressing technology operated at up to 40 times the scale required for krypton encapsulation. From the calculated process gas inventory in the pressure vessel and vessel design, the maximum explosive energy of 8.4 kg TNT and resulting vessel plug and fragment velocities were calculated. The facility Containment Cell housing the high pressure vessel was designed to contain the gases, fragments, and the shock wave energy calculated for a hypothetical vessel failure. The Access Cell located directly above the Containment Cell was designed to be a tertiary confinement of krypton-85, should the access hatch be breached. 3 figures, 2 tables.

• Research Organization: Exxon Nuclear Idaho Co., Inc., Idaho Falls (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-79ID01675
• OSTI ID: 6890435
• Report Number(s): CONF-801038-7; TRN: 80-018528
• Resource Relation: Conference: 16. DOE nuclear air cleaning conference, San Diego, CA, USA, 20 Oct 1980
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
FUEL REPROCESSING PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
KRYPTON 85
ENCAPSULATION
MAXIMUM CREDIBLE ACCIDENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
CONTAINMENT
FAILURES
GLASS
PRESSURE VESSELS
SAFETY
ZEOLITES
ACCIDENTS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CONTAINERS
DESIGN BASIS ACCIDENTS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INORGANIC ION EXCHANGERS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
KRYPTON ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MINERALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEI
PROCESSING
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing
050800 - Nuclear Fuels- Spent Fuels Reprocessing