Year
2009
Abstract
The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to de-inventory hazardous materials from several of its sites and consolidate the material for processing and disposal. The DOE administers a wide range of certified shipping packages for the transportation of hazardous materials to include special nuclear material (SNM) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF). A critical element to successful and safe transportation of these materials is the availability of certified shipping packages. It is estimated the total fleet of existing packages is in excess of 3,000 units and consists of Model numbers 9975s, 6Ms, 6Ls, LR56s, DSF-6s, 9977s, 9978s, as well as several other models. The following factors significantly influence the ability to efficiently move hazardous materials. As of 10/1/08, 6M/6L packages were no longer authorized for use by the Department of Transportation. These packages have traditionally been heavily used to move radioactive materials between DOE sites. There were well over 1,500 6M/6L packages in use to be replaced by model numbers 9977, 9978 or other certified replacement packages. Although the 6M/6L packages did not require annual maintenance/refurbishment/testing, the replacement packages have annual maintenance and testing requirements (e.g., leak rate testing). This represents a substantial increase in required periodic maintenance and testing. Type B packagings use will increase as de-inventory and consolidation work gains momentum. This increase also drives an increase in required periodic maintenance and testing. SRS has the only active material processing facility in the DOE complex and is the site of choice for material consolidation. The vast majority of the shipping packages will likely come through SRS for loading and/or unloading. This focal point of consolidation activity makes SRS a logical and convenient location to perform periodic package maintenance and refurbishment on the DOE fleet of packagings. SRS proposes the DOE Packaging Staging and Maintenance Center (DOE PSMC) at SRS. Five sites were evaluated against 18 criteria, and the results support SRS as the preferred site. The other four sites evaluated are Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Oak Ridge (OR), and Hanford. Establishment of the PSMC at SRS would build on decades of experience and knowledge of the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) personnel, provide a centralized location for servicing the DOE fleet of packagings, enable SRNL to expand its capability to keep pace with the demand for recertification services in the DOE complex, and provide a staging facility for packagings not immediately needed by a particular program or site, but require continued maintenance and/or certification.