Design Considerations cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1132-99

provide sufficient spacing between compartments to facilitate relocation

and maintenance of equipment in case of manual or automatic storage

operations, and

facilitate expeditious identification, inventory, placement, and retrieval of

storage containers.

Facility layout should provide for efficient cleaning, maintenance, and ease of

inspection and should consider the requirements for secure location of storage

containers, traffic control, and segregation. Door locations should be

coordinated with aisles to facilitate access to stored material, for loading and

unloading of material, for use of fire fighting equipment, and for compliance with

National Fire Code (NFC) NFPA 101, Code for Safety to Life from Fire in

Buildings and Structures. Bumpers should be provided where necessary to

minimize potential damage to the structure of racks from handling equipment.

New storage facilities should be physically separated from process operations,

storage of nonnuclear materials, flammable or explosive materials or equipment,

and functions not directly required for storage operations.

Combustible packaging materials should be stored in metal containers or

structures outside a PSF in a location that will not endanger the storage facility or

stored material if a fire occurs in the packaging material. No hazardous gases or

liquids should be used in PSFs. No natural gas or other fossil fuels should be

used for heating purposes unless the heating occurs in a separate building that

is clearly isolated from the primary facility.

The design should provide for sufficient spacing and arrangement of

compartments and/or containers to facilitate the taking of inventories. Vault

doors, racks, and containers should accommodate the application of tamper-

indicating devices. Adequate space for measurement should be provided for the

required inventory verification and/or confirmation. An automated vault

surveillance system should be provided where excessive radiation exposure

would result from entry for material control and accountability purposes. The

design of the vault and/or system should facilitate inventory requirements.

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