Year
2008
Abstract
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is shipping bulk quantities of fissile materials for disposition purposes, primarily highly enriched uranium (HEU). The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) specification 6M container has been the workhorse for NNSA and many other shippers of radioactive material. However, the 6M does not conform to the packaging requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 71) and, for that reason, is being phased out for use in the secure transportation system of the Department of Energy (DOE) by the end of September 2008. B&W Y-12 developed and licensed the ES-3100 container to replace the DOT 6M 55 gallon model and is developing the ES-4100 to replace the DOT 6M 110-gallon model. The ES-3100 was certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in April 2006. The process of deploying the new package began in June of 2006 and was completed in July 2007. The ES-3100 will be fully operational and completely replace the DOT 6M at the Y-12 National Security Complex in October 2008. The Department of Energy (DOE) has been shipping university reactor fuels and other fissile materials in the 110-gallon size Department of Transportation (DOT) Specification 6M container for over 20 years. To replace this container, the ES-4100 project began in September 2006 and the container is expected to be operational in FY 2010. Details on the preliminary design features of this new container and the types of material it will ship are discussed in this paper.