scholarly journals Interim Safe Storage of Radioactive Materials at the Savannah River Site

Author(s):  
Lucas L. Kyriazidis ◽  
Steve J. Hensel ◽  
Jeff M. Jordan

Storage of plutonium bearing materials at the US Department of Energy Savannah River Site (SRS) typically are packaged in DOE-STD-3013 welded containers which are stored in 9975 shipping packages. However, some materials are packaged in non-welded metal containers which consist of a can-bag-can configuration. These non-welded containers and the 9975 package provide safe containment of the plutonium bearing materials. Additionally, the materials must be stabilized such that adverse reactions do not occur during storage. Lastly, a surveillance program of these containers provides field and laboratory data with respect to package aging and potential degradation. The packaging, material stabilization, and surveillance requirements are identified in an Interim Safe Storage Criteria (ISSC) Program at SRS. This paper provides a high level overview of the ISSC program. Interim storage is defined as the storage prior to long term plutonium disposition.

Author(s):  
James K. Chan ◽  
John W. Ramsey

This paper describes the current pressure protection program at Savannah River Site (SRS), a Department of Energy chemical processing and nuclear material handling facility in Aiken, South Carolina. It gives a brief description of the design requirements based on ASME, API, CGA, and ASHRAE Codes. Equipment and systems requiring pressure protection at SRS are primarily pressure vessels, steam stations, process chemical systems, refrigerant and cryogenic systems and other air or gas systems. It is understood that any pressure protection program is built on five fundamental areas of responsibility: procurement, verification, registration, inspection, and repair. This paper focuses on the existing process of facility pressure protection evaluation for code compliance followed by identification of failure scenarios and system design requirements, valve selection and sizing, and verification record generation. Improvements to this process are recognized and discussed. They include the development of a computer program to perform pressure protection evaluation and generate verification records. The software would process all applicable pressure protection calculations using improved methodologies. All relevant data required would be accessible within the program. Pressure safety relief device attributes and system parameters would be displayed. The computer program would enhance design consistency, improve quality and plant safety, and make the pressure protection verification process more efficient and cost effective.


2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (S2) ◽  
pp. 498-499
Author(s):  
J. S. Young ◽  
Y. Su ◽  
L. Li ◽  
M. L. Balmer

Millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste are contained in underground tanks at U. S. Department of Energy sites such as Hanford and Savannah River. Most of the radioactivity is due to 137Cs and 90Sr, which must be extracted in order to concentrate the waste. An ion exchanger, crystalline silicotitanate IONSIV® IE911, is being considered for separation of Cs at the Savannah River Site (SRS). While the performance of this ion exchanger has been well characterized under normal operating conditions, Cs removal at slightly elevated temperatures, such as those that may occur in a process upset, is not clear. Our recent study indicates that during exposure to SRS simulant at 55°C and 80°C, an aluminosilicate coating formed on the exchanger surface. There was concern that the coating would affect its ion exchange properties. A LEO 982 field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and an Oxford ISIS energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDS) were used to characterize the coating.


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