Requirements for Container Testing

DOE-STD-3028-2000

function of the surface area of the plastic in intimate contact with radioactive material

[Friedlander et al. 1966]. Because of the limited escape depth of alpha particles from

dense materials, a film of contamination of fine oxide particles deposited on the

plastic is comparable to a massive piece of metal in promoting radiolytic degradation.

If the plastic is outside of a sealed can, degradation of the plastic is reduced because

the only source of uranium-containing particles is contamination on the exterior of the

can.

Nevertheless, as good operating practice, plastic in any portion of the packaging is

forbidden by this Standard. The "bagless loadout" system has been developed to

obviate the need for bagging out of material and will be put into operation as part of

repackaging operations at ORNL.

3. The diameter of the outer container is sized to fit into the existing storage tube vaults

at the 233U National Repository at ORNL Building 3019. A minimum height is

specified to ensure that the package will not tumble when placed in a tube vault.

Containers should not be so tall that they do not fit within the storage configuration or

are unwieldy to handle. For example, cans for repackaging operations at ORNL are

approximately 1 ft. (0.3048 m) tall.

This design will minimize future handling and avoid unnecessary additional

personnel exposure, operational risk, and waste generation, so these dimensions will

need to be factored into any future design of shipping containers.

4. Elastomeric seals on food-pack cans have been used for storage of 233U. Although

such containers have been used successfully with little or no significant seal

degradation, this Standard conservatively excludes them from use.

A.6.2.3

Requirements for Container Testing

1. Design Qualification Testing

a) The purpose of the drop test of the entire package is to ensure that a storage

package accidentally dropped from the maximum storage height would not

release any material. The number of tests, the number of samples per test, and

the drop orientation of the samples are specified in 49 CFR 178.603(a). The