Onsite Transfer of Plutonium Solutions with the Upgraded LR-56S Cask

With the end of the cold war, quantities of plutonium (Pu) solutions remained in the nuclear material production complex at the Savannah River Site (SRS) These solutions, now surplus to the nuclear weapons program, have resulted in significant health, safety, and environmental vulnerabilities at the Site and require stabilization. The site plan for stabilizing the solutions is to transfer the material from H canyon storage to F canyon for processing and disposition. The proposed onsite transfer at SRS raised both regulatory and safety concerns since the material is prohibited for offsite shipment by the U. S. Hazardous Materials, Regulations (HMR). However, an onsite transfer may be approved if it can be demonstrated that proper safety, health, and environmental protection are maintained. The difficulty of performing such a task is the awareness that an onsite transfer of Pu solutions had never been approved in the U. S. To understand the difficulties associated with the planning the transfer, this paper will describe the methodology and compliance process that SRS used to demonstrate that the transfer is safe and that the public is adequately protected. The cask selected for the transfer will be described as well as the process used to confirm thatmore » the plutonium solutions are safely contained by the cask design. Additionally, the administrative controls and cask modifications mandated by the content form are also presented.« less