Stainless Steel Interactions with Salt-Containing Plutonium Oxides

Salt-containing plutonium oxide materials are treated, packagedand stored within nested, stainless steel containers based on requirementsestablished in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)3013 Standard. The moisture limit for the stored materials is lessthan 0.5 weight percent. Surveillance activities that are conductedto assess the condition of the containers and assure continuing3013 container integrity include the destructive examination ofa select number of containers to determine whether corrosion attackhas occurred as a result of stainless steel interactions with saltcontaining plutonium oxides. To date, some corrosion has beenobserved on the innermost containers, however, no corrosion hasbeen noted on the outer containers and the integrity of the 3013container systems is not expected to be compromised over a fiftyyearstorage lifetime.