CASE STUDY: RH-TRU WASTE TRANSPORTATION FROM BATTELLECOLUMBUS LABORATORIES

摘要

Battelle Columbus Laboratories (BCL), located in Columbus, Ohio, must completedecontamination and decommissioning (D&D) activities for nuclear research buildings andgrounds by 2005, pursuant to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Ohio Strategic Plan. Mostof the resulting waste (approximately 25 cubic meters [m3]) is projected to be remote-handledtransuranic (RH-TRU) waste destined for shipment to and disposal at the Waste Isolation PilotPlant (WIPP) outside Carlsbad, New Mexico. The baseline approach to RH-TRU wastetransportation from BCL to WIPP involves the use of the 72-B Cask, a Type B packagingcertified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The 72-B Cask is designed totransport one RH-TRU waste canister either directly loaded with waste or overpacking three55-gallon drums. BCL is currently developing a waste certification program for RH-TRU wasteincluding this 72-B Cask baseline shipping option.As a contingency plan, and to expedite RH-TRU waste shipments off- site by the end of 2002,BCL also is currently investigating alternative transportation options. These options includeusing the model CNS 10-160B Cask, a commercial shipping cask designed and fabricated byChem-Nuclear Systems (CNS) (acquired by GTS Duratek in June 2000). The CNS 10-160BCask is certified by the NRC as a Type B shipping container and is capable of transporting up toten 55-gallon drums of waste. An application to add RH-TRU waste from BCL as authorizedcontents for the CNS 10-160B Cask is currently under review by the NRC. The BattelleColumbus Laboratories Decommissioning Project (BCLDP) conducted a mock demonstration ofan RH-TRU waste shipment in the CNS 10-160B Cask in September 2000. Waste-handlingactivities at BCL were simulated using existing remote-handling equipment and approvedprocedures to load the CNS 10-160B Cask and prepare it for transportation to the WIPP. TheCNS 10-160B Cask was then transported by truck along a DOE-approved shipping route to theWIPP, where WIPP personnel simulated remote unloading of the cask. The demonstrationsprovided sufficient evidence for the CNS 10-160B Cask to be considered a viable option for RHTRUwaste transportation.