Uniform identification system for UF6 cylinders

There is a large quantity of UF6 cylinders in use around the world. A substantial number of these are used for transport of UF6 from and to different facilities in different countries and continents. Each cylinder has an identification (ID) number assigned by the owner. Historically, these numbers are company specific and do have little common and systematic elements. The introduction of an industry-wide uniform identification/numbering system would be of an advantage for several reasons: - The current different ID numbers use figures, letters or a combination thereof in a differing number of digits. - The current ID numbers can often not be used in standard Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and another ERP compatible code has to be assigned in addition. - Each facility has to do this for the cylinders they own, but also for foreign cylinders. Consequently, a cylinder with one original Owner Serial number can have different “in-house” ID numbers in different facilities. This may confuse inter-company communication and cylinder tracking. A new identification system can easily be adapted for UF6 cylinders manufactured in the future, but solutions have to be developed to determine how to apply such a new system to the existing cylinder fleet. This paper explores the adaptation of an industry-wide uniform ID system for UF6 cylinders similar to the world-wide used system for freight containers. The paper also investigates solutions for the implementation of a new ID system, especially for UF6 cylinders that are already in service.