An Analysis of a Spent Fuel Transportation Cask Under Severe Fire Accident Conditions

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Bajwa
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Severe Fire ◽  
Tunnel Fire ◽  
Accident Conditions ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
Fire Accident

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 71 section 73(c)(4), (10 CFR 71.73(c)(4)) requires that transportation packages used to ship radioactive material must be designed to resist an engulfing fire of a 30 minute duration and prevent release of radioactive material to the environment. In July, 2001, a derailed train carrying hazardous materials caught fire in a railroad tunnel in Baltimore, Maryland, and burned for several days. Although the occurrence of a fire of such duration during the shipment of spent nuclear fuel is unlikely, questions were raised about the performance of spent nuclear fuel casks under conditions similar to those experienced in the Baltimore tunnel fire incident. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission evaluates the performance of spent fuel transportation casks under accident conditions. The National Transportation Safety Board is responsible for investigating railroad accidents and identifying the probable cause(s) and offers recommendations for safety improvements. They are currently investigating the Baltimore tunnel fire accident. This paper assesses the performance of a spent fuel transportation cask with a welded canister under severe fire conditions. The paper describes the analytic model used for the assessment and presents a discussion of the preliminary results.

Analysis of the Impact of a Tunnel Fire Environment on a Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Cask

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Bajwa
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Tunnel Fire ◽  
Accident Conditions ◽  
The Impact

On July 18, 2001, a train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caught fire in the Howard Street railroad tunnel in Baltimore, Maryland. Due to this accident, questions were raised about the performance of spent nuclear fuel transportation casks under severe fire conditions, similar to those experienced in the Baltimore tunnel fire. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) evaluates the performance of spent fuel transportation casks under accident conditions. Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 71 section 73(c)(4), (10 CFR 71.73(c)(4)) requires that transportation packages used to ship radioactive material must be designed to resist an engulfing fire of a 30 minute duration and prevent release of radioactive material to the environment. The staff of the NRC, in cooperation with the National Transportation Safety Board, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Pacific Northwest National Labs and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analysis, have undertaken an analysis to determine the thermal conditions present in the Howard Street tunnel fire, as well as analyze the effects that such a fire would have on a spent fuel transportation cask. This paper describes the analytic models used in the assessment and presents a discussion of the results.

Historical Rail Accident Analyses Identifying Accident Parameters That Could Impact Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd S. Mintz ◽  
George Adams ◽  
Marius Necsoiu ◽  
James Mancillas ◽  
Chris Bajwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Hazardous Materials ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hazardous Material ◽  
Freight Train ◽  
Severe Fire ◽  
Regulatory Commission

As the regulatory authority for transportation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requires that SNF transportation packages be designed to endure a fully engulfing fire with an average temperature of 800 °C (1,475 °F) for 30 minutes, as prescribed in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 71. The work described in this paper was performed to support NRC in determining the types of accident parameters that could produce a severe fire with the potential to fully engulf a SNF transportation package. This paper describes the process that was used to characterize the important features of rail accidents that would potentially lead to a spent nuclear fuel transport package being involved in a severe fire. Historical rail accidents involving hazardous material and long duration fires in the United States have been analyzed using data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Parameters that were evaluated from this data include, but were not limited to, class of track where the accident occurred, class of hazardous material that was being transported, and number of railcars involved in the fire. The data analysis revealed that in the past 34 years of rail transport, roughly 1,800 accidents have led to the release of hazardous materials resulting in a frequency of roughly 1 accident per 10 million freight train miles. In the last 12 years, there have only been 20 accidents involving multiple car hazardous material releases that led to a fire. This results in an accident rate of 0.003 accidents per million freight train miles that involved multiple car releases and a fire. In all the accidents analyzed, only one involved a railcar carrying Class 7 (i.e., radioactive) hazardous material (HAZMAT).

Potential Effects of Historic Rail Accidents on the Integrity of Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Packages

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Bajwa ◽  
Earl P. Easton
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Hazardous Materials ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Material Transport ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
The Us ◽  
Regulatory Commission

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an analysis of historical rail accidents (from 1975 to 2005) involving hazardous materials and long duration fires in the United States. The analysis was initiated to determine what types of accidents had occurred and what impact those types of accidents could have on the rail transport of spent nuclear fuel. The NRC found that almost 21 billion miles of freight rail shipments over a 30 year period had resulted in a small number of accidents involving the release of hazardous materials, eight of which involved long duration fires. All eight of the accidents analyzed resulted in fires that were less severe than the “fully engulfing fire” described as a hypothetical accident condition in the NRC regulations for radioactive material transport found in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 71, Section 73. None of the eight accidents involved a release of radioactive material. This paper describes the eight accidents in detail and examines the potential effects on spent nuclear fuel transportation packages exposed to the fires that resulted from these accidents.

Risk Perspectives on Rail Transport of Spent Nuclear Fuel

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Bajwa ◽  
Earl P. Easton
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Hazardous Materials ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rail Transport ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Material Transport ◽  
Long Duration

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed a study of historical rail accidents (from 1975 to 2005) involving hazardous materials and long duration fires in the United States. The study was initiated to determine what types of accidents had actually occurred, and what type of impact those types of accidents could have on the rail transport of spent nuclear fuel. The NRC found that almost 21 billion miles of rail shipments has yielded only a small number of accidents involving hazardous materials, eight of which involved both hazardous materials and long duration fires. The NRC reviewed these eight accidents in detail to determine what types of effects these accidents might have on a spent fuel cask, should one have been involved. The staff determined that the fires witnessed in the accidents studied would not have provided a fully engulfing fire environment as described by the hypothetical accident condition fire in NRC regulations for radioactive material transport found in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 71, Section 73. This paper will detail the NRC study of these accidents and conclusions regarding effects on transportation casks exposed to the fires that resulted from these accidents.

The MacArthur Maze Fire and Roadway Collapse: A “Worst Case Scenario” for Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation?

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Bajwa ◽  
Earl P. Easton ◽  
Harold Adkins ◽  
Judith Cuta ◽  
Nicholas Klymyshyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Steel Structure ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Case Scenario ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Regulatory Commission

In 2007, a severe transportation accident occurred near Oakland, California, at the interchange known as the “MacArthur Maze.” The accident involved a double tanker truck of gasoline overturning and bursting into flames. The subsequent fire reduced the strength of the supporting steel structure of an overhead interstate roadway causing the collapse of portions of that overpass onto the lower roadway in less than 20 minutes. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has analyzed what might have happened had a spent nuclear fuel transportation package been involved in this accident, to determine if there are any potential regulatory implications of this accident to the safe transport of spent nuclear fuel in the United States. This paper provides a summary of this effort, presents preliminary results and conclusions, and discusses future work related to the NRC’s analysis of the consequences of this type of severe accident.

Severe Transportation Accidents: Impacts of Severe Fires on Radioactive Material Transportation

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Bajwa ◽  
Earl P. Easton ◽  
Darrell S. Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Fire Investigation ◽  
Radioactive Materials ◽  
The Us ◽  
Material Transportation ◽  
Safe Transport ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
Loss Of Strength

In 2007, a severe transportation accident occurred in Oakland, California in what is commonly known as the “MacArthur Maze” section of Interstate 580 (I-580). The accident involved a tractor trailer carrying gasoline that impacted an overpass support column and burst into flames. The subsequent fire burned for over 2 hours and led to the collapse of the overpass due to the loss of strength in the structural steel that supported the overpass. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) studied this accident to examine any potential regulatory implications related to the safe transport of radioactive materials, including spent nuclear fuel. This paper will discuss the details of the NRC’s MacArthur Maze fire investigation.

Training in the Application of the ASME Code to Transportation Packaging of Radioactive Materials

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. N. Shah ◽  
B. Shelton ◽  
R. Fabian ◽  
S. W. Tam ◽  
Y. Y. Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Fissile Material ◽  
Radioactive Materials ◽  
Asme Code ◽  
Material Transportation ◽  
Accident Conditions ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level

The Department of Energy has established guidelines for the qualifications and training of technical experts preparing and reviewing the safety analysis report for packaging (SARP) and transportation of radioactive materials. One of the qualifications is a working knowledge of, and familiarity with the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, referred to hereafter as the ASME Code. DOE is sponsoring a course on the application of the ASME Code to the transportation packaging of radioactive materials. The course addresses both ASME design requirements and the safety requirements in the federal regulations. The main objective of this paper is to describe the salient features of the course, with the focus on the application of Section III, Divisions 1 and 3, and Section VIII of the ASME Code to the design and construction of the containment vessel and other packaging components used for transportation (and storage) of radioactive materials, including spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The training course includes the ASME Code-related topics that are needed to satisfy all Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulation Part 71 (10 CFR 71). Specifically, the topics include requirements for materials, design, fabrication, examination, testing, and quality assurance for containment vessels, bolted closures, components to maintain subcriticality, and other packaging components. The design addresses thermal and pressure loading, fatigue, nonductile fracture and buckling of these components during both normal conditions of transport and hypothetical accident conditions described in 10 CFR 71. Various examples are drawn from the review of certificate applications for Type B and fissile material transportation packagings.

Performance of Spent Fuel Transportation Casks in Severe Tunnel Fires

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Earl P. Easton ◽  
Christopher S. Bajwa ◽  
Robert Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Performance Study ◽  
Fire Scenario ◽  
Tunnel Fire ◽  
Accident Conditions

As part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) overall review of the performance of transportation casks under severe accident conditions, the NRC has undertaken a number of initiatives, including the Package Performance Study (PPS), described in USNRC Package Performance Study Test Protocols, NUREG-1768, which will test full size transportation casks in a severe accident, as well as an examination of the Baltimore tunnel fire of 2001. The final PPS test plan is currently under development by the NRC's Office of Research. The NRC, working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), performed analyses to predict the response of three different spent fuel transportation cask designs when exposed to a fire similar to that which occurred in the Howard Street railroad tunnel in downtown Baltimore, Maryland on July 18, 2001. NRC Staff evaluated the potential for a release of radioactive material from each of the three transportation casks analyzed for the Baltimore tunnel fire scenario. The results of these analyses are described in detail in Spent Fuel Transportation Package Response to the Baltimore Tunnel Fire Scenario, NUREG/CR-6886, published in draft for comment in November 2005.

Potential Effects of Recent Road Transportation Accidents on Radioactive Material Shipments

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Bajwa ◽  
Earl P. Easton ◽  
Darrell S. Dunn ◽  
Robert E. Shewmaker
Keyword(s):  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Road Transportation ◽  
Concrete Walls ◽  
The Us ◽  
A Chain ◽  
Safe Transport ◽  
Regulatory Commission

In 2007, two severe transportation accidents, involving primarily long-haul tractor trailers, occurred in the State of California. In the first, which occurred in Oakland in the “MacArthur Maze” section of Interstate 580, a tractor trailer carrying gasoline impacted an overpass support column and burst into flames. The subsequent fire, which burned for over 2 hours, led to the collapse of the overpass onto the remains of the tractor trailer, due to the loss of strength in the steel exposed to the fire. The second incident was a chain-reaction accident involving several tractor trailers in the I-5 “Newhall Pass” truck bypass tunnel in Santa Clarita. This accident also involved an intense fire that damaged the tunnel and required the closing of the tunnel for repairs to the concrete walls. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is studying both these accidents to examine any potential regulatory implications related to the safe transport of radioactive materials and spent nuclear fuel in the United States. This paper will provide a summary of that effort.

Used Nuclear Fuel Transportation Package Seal Performance in Beyond Design Basis Thermal Conditions

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Gonzalez ◽  
Christopher Bajwa ◽  
Robert Einziger ◽  
Earl Easton ◽  
Jiann Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Experimental Testing ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Pressure Vessels ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Thermal Testing ◽  
Design Basis

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is evaluating the performance of seals in used fuel transportation packages during beyond-design-basis fires, similar to the Baltimore tunnel fire that occurred in 2001. The performance of package seals is important for determining the potential for a release of radioactive material from a package during a beyond-design-basis accident. Seals generally have lower temperature limits than other package components and are often part of the containment barrier between the environment and the cask contents. The NRC’s Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) funded the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to conduct small-scale thermal testing to obtain experimental data of the performance of seals during beyond-design basis temperature exposures. The experimental testing consisted of several small-scale pressure vessels fabricated with a modified ASME flange design, using commercial grade metallic seals, similar to those that might be used on an actual spent nuclear fuel transportation package. The vessels were heated in an electrical furnace for exposures up to 9 hours (hrs) at temperatures as high as 800°C (1472°F), which far exceeded the rated temperature of the seals in question. This paper will provide a summary of the testing completed as well as the preliminary results and conclusions of the experiments performed by NIST.

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