Remote handling in the Plutonium Immobilization Project: Puck handling
Since the break up of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War, the US and Russia have been negotiating ways to reduce their nuclear stockpiles. Economics is one of the reasons behind this, but another important reason is safeguarding these materials from unstable organizations and countries. With the downsizing of the nuclear stockpiles, large quantities of plutonium are being declared excess and must be safely disposed of. The Savannah River Site (SRS) has been selected as the site where the immobilization facility will be located. Conceptual design and process development commenced in 1998. SRS will immobilize excess plutonium in a ceramic waste form and encapsulate it in vitrified high level waste in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) canister. These canisters will then be interred in the national repository at Yucca Mountain, New Mexico. The facility is divided into three distinct operating areas: Plutonium Conversion, First Stage Immobilization, and Second Stage Immobilization. This paper will discuss the first two operations.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 752039
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-TR-2000-00051; TRN: US0401603
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA (US), 06/04/2000--06/04/2000; Other Information: PBD: 18 Feb 2000; PBD: 18 Feb 2000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Remote material handling in the Plutonium Immobilization Project. Revision 1
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Related Subjects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
CONTAINERS
DESIGN
ECONOMICS
PLUTONIUM
STOCKPILES
YUCCA MOUNTAIN
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
NUCLEAR WEAPONS DISMANTLEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
CERAMICS
WASTE FORMS
FABRICATION
REMOTE HANDLING
ARMS CONTROL