TRANSPORTATION PACKAGES TO SUPPORT SAVANNAH RIVER SITE MISSIONS

The Savannah River Site’s missions have expanded from primarily a defense mission to one that includes environmental cleanup and the stabilization, storage, and preparation for final disposition of nuclear materials [1]. The development of packaging and the transportation of radioactive materials are playing an ever-increasing role in the successful completion of the site’s missions. The three strategic SRS mission areas are 1) nuclear materials stewardship, 2) environmental stewardship, and 3) nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship. The materials and components that need to be shipped, and associated packaging, will be described for each of the mission areas. The diverse range of materials requiring shipment include spent fuel, irradiated target assemblies, excess plutonium and uranium materials, high level waste canisters, transuranic wastes, mixed and low level wastes, and nuclear weapons stockpile materials and components. Since many of these materials have been in prolonged storage or resulted from disassembly of components, the composition, size and shape of the materials present packaging and certification challenges that need to be met. Over 30 different packaging designs are required to support the site’s missions. Approximately 15 inbound shipping-legs transport materials into the Savannah River Site and the same number (15) of outgoing shipment-legs are carrying materials from the site for further processing or permanent disposal.