Design Considerations cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1132-99

Those areas of the facility where SNM is stored (e.g., plutonium product storage)

should be located in the least accessible (to an intrusion force) area of the plant.

Design of storage tanks for aqueous solutions of plutonium should ensure that

they are geometrically favorable with respect to nuclear criticality. When there is

a tendency for solids to precipitate, vessels should be instrumented to detect the

build-up of solids and designed to facilitate removal of solids.

The ventilation system should be designed to provide adequate heat rejection

capacity. DOE-STD-3013, Criteria for Preparing and Packaging Plutonium

Metals and Oxides for Long-Term Storage, provides guidance regarding

containers for storage of plutonium oxide and metal containing greater than 50

percent plutonium.

Suitable physical compartmentalization should be considered to limit the quantity

of stored materials in each compartment to safe levels, to provide the necessary

access features and controls, and satisfy loss limitation criteria.

Cautionary systems (e.g., visual or audible alarms or other warning systems) or

interlocks should be considered to prevent inadvertent entry into hazardous

areas. Safety alarm systems should annunciate inside and outside the PSF to

identify hazardous areas to anyone present in either area. The need for visual

alarm devices within the facility, in addition to audible alarm devices, should be

considered.

Storage racks should be noncombustible and designed to hold storage

containers securely in place, maintain proper separation of storage containers,

and maintain structural integrity under normal operational conditions, anticipated

events, and accident conditions.

I-60