Uranium Hexaflouride Packaging Tiedown Systems Overview at Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) in Piketon, Ohio, a operated by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., through the U.S. Department of Energy-Oak Ridge Operations Office (DOE-ORO) for the U.S. Department of Energy-Headquarters, Office of Nuclear Energy. The PORTS conducts those operations that are necessary for the production, packaging, and shipment of enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6). Uranium hexafluoride enriched greater than 1.0 wt percent 2UU shall be packaged in accordance with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations of Title 49 CFR Parts 173 (Reference 1) and 178 (Reference 2), or in U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) certified package designs. Concerns have been expressed regarding the various tiedown methods and condition of the trailers being used by some shippers/carriers for international transport of the UP( cylinders/ overpacks (Reference 3). The generally accepted method for securing the overpack during shipment is to bolt its base to the trailer bed. International shipments typically are not made using dedicated trailers, and numerous trailers have been received at PORTS with improperly and potentially dangerously secured overpacks. Also, many trailers have not been loaded at PORTS for international shipment because of mechanical problems, rotten flooring, bald tires, no brakes or brake lights, or broken springs. Because domestic shipments of UF6 are made using dedicated trailers that are properly maintained, the domestic shipments are generally conducted in the designed manner. Because of the concerns about international shipments, the U.S. Department of Energy-Headquarters (DOE-HQ) Office of Nuclear Energy, through DOE-HQ Transportation Management Division, requested Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford) to review UF6 packaging tiedown and shipping practices used by PORTS, and where possible and appropriate, provide recommendations for enhancing these practices. Consequently, a team of two individuals from Westinghouse Hanford visited PORTS on March 5 and 6, 1990, for the purpose of conducting this review. The paper provides a brief discussion of the review activities and a summary of the resulting findings and recommendations. A detailed reporting of the review is documented in Reference 4.