Defining a Plutonium Oxide Content Envelope for Shipment

Plutonium oxide is one of the most challenging hazardous materials to ship in commerce both domestically and internationally. Licensing documents for the transport of plutonium oxide must deal with a number of issues including gas pressure, flammable gas generation, high dose rates from alpha-neutron reactions, low mass limits for criticality and unique corrosion mechanisms between the oxide and packaging materials. Key to addressing these issues is the development of content restrictions and package requirements also sometimes referred to as content envelopes. This paper describes the process involved in developing plutonium oxide content envelopes for shipping plutonium oxide in Type B quantities in commerce.