DEVELOPMENT OF THE HALFPACK PACKAGING FOR OPTIMIZED SHIPMENT OF CONTACT-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE TO THEW ASTE ISOLATION PILOT PLANT

Several different transportation packaging designs will be utilized for making shipments of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA. Although all such packages require certification by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), currently only the TRUPACT-11 packaging has been granted USNRC certification (originally licensed in 1989 under USNRC Certificate of Compliance 71-9218). Initial shipments to WlPP will rely on the TRUPACT-11 packaging since it is the only currently licensed package system capable of transporting large quantities of Contact-Handled Transuranic (CH-TRU) waste. Two additional packagings are currently under development to more efficiently transport CH-TRU waste and to allow the transport of Remote-Handled Transuranic (RH-TRU) waste to WlPP: the HALFPACK and 72-B packagings, respectively. This paper specifically addresses the design and licensing of the HALFPACK packaging. Additional information is available regarding the design and testing of the TRUPACT-11 packaging.