Transport Experience of New \"TNF-XI\" Powder Package

Since the Tokai criticality accident in 1999, there has been no specialized manufacturer conducting uranium re-conversion in Japan. For this reason, Nuclear Fuel Industries, Ltd. (NFI) imports from overseas almost all the uranium oxide powder used for manufacturing pellets for nuclear fuel assemblies. To date, an NT-IX package has been used for transporting the uranium oxide powder. However, due to the adoption of IAEA TS-R-1 into Japanese domestic regulations, we have begun to use a new TNF-XI powder package because the NT-IX package can suffer major deformation under the drop test III condition. The TNF-XI package was jointly developed by COGEMA LOGISTICS of France and NFI from 2000, and started to be used for actual transportation in 2003. This package has improved transport efficiency, handling operability and safety performance in comparison to its predecessor. This paper describes the characteristics of the new TNF-XI package and its actual transportation records and performance.