Contribution to Internal Pressure and Flammable Gas Concentration in RAM Transport Packages*

Various facilities in the U. S. operated by the U.S. Department of Energy generate wastes contaminated with transuranic (TRU) isotopes (such as plutonium and americium) that decay primarily by emission of alpha particles. The alpha particles lose energy in their passage through matter and cllange the material chemically in the process called radiolysis. The waste materials consist of a wide variety of commercially available plastics, paper, cloth, and rubber; concreted or sludge wastes containing water; and metals, glass, and other solid inorganic materials. TRU wastes that have surface dose rates of 200 mrem/hr or less are typically packaged in plastic bags placed inside metal drums or boxes that are vented through high efficiency particulate air (HEP A) filters. These wastes are to be transported from waste generation or storage sites to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in the TRUPACf-II, a Type B package.