NUPACK, THE NEW ASME CODE FOR RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL TRANSPORTATION PACKAGING CONTAINMENTS

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has added a new division to the nuclearconstructionsectionofitsBoilerandPressureVesselCode(B&PVC). ThisDivision, commonly referred to as \"Nupack;' has been written to provide a consistent set of technical requirements for containment vessels of transportation packagings for high-level radioactive materials. This paper provides an introduction to Nupack, discusses some of its technical provisions, and describes how it can be used for the design and construction of packaging components. Nupack's general provisions and design requirements are emphasized, while treatment of materials, fabrication and inspection is left for another paper. Participation in the Nupack development work described in this paper was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.