DEVELOPMENT OF A DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REPLACEMENT FOR THE 110-GALLON SPECIFICATION 6M SHIPPING CONTAINER

The Department of Energy (DOE) has been shipping university reactor fuels and other fissile materials in the 110-gallon Department of Transportation (DOT) Specification 6M container for over 20 years. The DOT 6M container has been the workhorse for many DOE programs. However, packages designed and used according to the specification 6M (U. S. Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR 178.354; 2003) do not conform to the latest package safety requirements in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations 10 CFR 71, especially performance under hypothetical accident conditions. For that reason, the specification 6M is being eliminated by the DOT. Packages designed to the 6M specification will no longer be allowed for incommerce shipments after October 1, 2008. The need for 6M replacements has been a major focus of the Secure Transportation and Packaging Steering Committee (STPSC) for several years. The STPSC is responsible for looking ahead at DOE future transportation needs and ensuring that those needs are met by the use of existing packages or the development of new packages. The STPSC was involved with developing a 55-gallon 6M replacement. After much deliberation, the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs, in coordination with STPSC, provided funds for replacing the 110-gallon 6M. Initially, two design agencies were asked to provide concepts for the new package. Both of these organizations, Savannah River National Laboratory and BWXT Y-12, have extensive experience with nuclear material shipping containers. After an evaluation, NNSA selected BWXT Y-12 for the project. The new container, designated the ES-4100 shipping container, will be a larger version of the ES-3100 container (USA/9315/B(U)F-96), designed by BWXT Y-12 and certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April 2006. The ES-3100 replaces the smaller 55-gallon 6M and is being used exclusively throughout the DOE complex. The ES-4100 will also be certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The ES-4100 project began in September 2006 and the new container is expected to be operational in FY 2009. Details on the preliminary design features of this new container and the types of material to be shipped are discussed in this paper