VRTF: A NEW PACKAGE FOR THE TRANSPORT OF VITRIFIED RESIDUE WASTE FROM SELLAFIELD TO JAPAN

High-level waste is generated as a product of the chemical process of reprocessing. Sellafield Ltd has stored such waste at Sellafield in liquid form for about 40 years. While most of the waste generated at Sellafield is a product of the UK nuclear industry, a quantity is generated as a result of reprocessing fuels from overseas customers and will be returned to the country of origin, such as Japan. The liquid waste, known as residue, has to be incorporated in a stable form to facilitate safe and convenient export. Sellafield Ltd operates a plant which vitrifies the residue in a stable glass matrix within special stainless steel containers. After a period in storage within Sellafield’s Vitrified Product Store the activity and heat generated have decayed to acceptable levels. Containers will then be moved into the recently constructed Residue Export Facility, currently being commissioned. Within this facility, those containers selected for export will be cleaned, monitored then remotely loaded into a transport package. Sellafield Ltd has designed and manufactured the Vitrified Residue Transport Flask (VRTF) to safely perform these transports of the vitrified residues to Japan. The package design is capable of carrying 21 vitrified residue containers whilst satisfying the stringent shielding requirements within the overall UK weight and size limitations, resulting in a package which is 2.5m in diameter, 6m in length and a laden weight of 113.5 tonnes. Originally licensed in 1993 as a type B(U)F against 1985 (Amended 1990) IAEA regulations, the design was fully reviewed to enable its relicense against 1996 regulations. The manufacture of the first package was completed in December 2006, and the package handling trials in the Japanese facilities performed during the summer of 2007.