SYSTEMS FOR REMOTE-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE TRANSPORTATION TO WIPP

he volume of remote-handled (RH) transuranic (TRU) waste managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is estimated to be 4,027.3 cubic meters (m3 ). The majority of this waste is stored at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (2,253.5 m3 ) and the Hanford site (900 m3 ), with smaller quantities stored at other DOE sites, and is destined for permanent disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The large and small quantity RH-TRU waste sites have waste management goals that require waste removal under aggressive schedules. RH-TRU waste disposal at WIPP is pending certification by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and New Mexico Environment Department approval of a modification to the WIPP Hazardous Waste Facility Permit. The permit modification includes process descriptions for RH-TRU waste-handling activities associated with shipping packages to be received at WIPP. TRU waste may be transported to WIPP only in packages approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The baseline approach to RH-TRU waste transportation to WIPP uses the 72-B Cask, a Type B packaging certified by the NRC for the transport of RH-TRU waste. It is anticipated that the 72-B Cask will be available for shipments to WIPP in 2002 [1]. Based on the need to expedite transportation from specific sites, a second packaging has been investigated. The 10-160B Cask, a Type B commercial shipping cask, was certified by the NRC for the transport of low-level waste. An application for the addition of RH-TRU waste from one small quantity site (Battelle Columbus Laboratories [BCL]) as authorized contents for the 10-160B Cask was reviewed and approved by the NRC in 2001. Mock demonstrations of RH-TRU waste shipments using the 10-160B Cask have been completed at BCL and WIPP. The successful demonstrations have provided evidence to justify the 10-160B Cask as a viable option for RH-TRU waste transportation to WIPP.