Los Alamos National Laboratory new generation standard nuclear material storage container - the SAVY4000 design
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
Incidents involving release of nuclear materials stored in containers of convenience such as food pack cans, slip lid taped cans, paint cans, etc. has resulted in defense board concerns over the lack of prescriptive performance requirements for interim storage of nuclear materials. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has shared in these incidents and in response proactively moved into developing a performance based standard involving storage of nuclear material (RD003). This RD003 requirements document has sense been updated to reflect requirements as identified with recently issued DOE M 441.1-1 'Nuclear Material Packaging Manual'. The new packaging manual was issued at the encouragement of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board with a clear directive for protecting the worker from exposure due to loss of containment of stored materials. The Manual specifies a detailed and all inclusive approach to achieve a high level of protection; from package design & performance requirements, design life determinations of limited life components, authorized contents evaluations, and surveillance/maintenance to ensure in use package integrity over time. Materials in scope involve those stored outside an approved engineered-contamination barrier that would result in a worker exposure of in excess of 5 rem Committed Effective Does Equivalent (CEDE). Key aspects of meeting the challenge as developed around the SAVY-3000 vented storage container design will be discussed. Design performance and acceptance criteria against the manual, bounding conditions as established that the user must ensure are met to authorize contents in the package (based upon the activity of heat-source plutonium (90% Pu-238) oxide, which bounds the requirements for weapons-grade plutonium oxide), interface as a safety class system within the facility under the LANL plutonium facility DSA, design life determinations for limited life components, and a sense of design specific surveillance program implementation as LANL moves forward into production and use of the SAVY-3000 will all be addressed. The SAVY-3000 is intended as a work horse package for the DOE complex as a vented storage container primarily for plutonium in solid form.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1022756
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-10-04589; LA-UR-10-4589; TRN: US1104137
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Institute of Nuclear Materials Management 51st Annual Meeting ; July 11, 2010 ; Baltimore, MD
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Los Alamos national Laboratory overview of the SAVY-4000 design: meeting the challenge for worker safety
Los Alamos National Laboratory DOE M441.1-1 implementation