A Tier one supplier to the nuclear industry engaged Promation for the design, engineering, manufacturing, assembly, inspection and test of a shielded storage container for the storage, contamination control, radiation shielding and transportation of its contents from the Retube Waste Processing Building (RWPB) at Darlington Nuclear site to a waste storage facility.
The Challenge
Life-extension campaigns of CANDU reactors make use of a volume reduction system (VRS) to lessen the waste storage burden. An integral component of the VRS is a press which becomes contaminated during operation, and so a means of safely storing and transporting the press was needed. The press weighs 25,000 lbs and occupies a volume of 80 cubic feet. The shielded storage container was required to contain the radioactive contents and maintain its radiation shielding performance due to a potential drop during handling maneuvers. Furthermore, with a storage life of 50 years, corrosion was an important consideration.
The Solution
Promation designed the shielded storage container to meet the requirements of Type A transportation packages as specified in the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) “Package and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations, 2015, and the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials”. The shielded storage container was designed to meet shielding requirements using a welded construction of 2” thick ASTM A516 steel. Also, a drop test analysis using finite element software was performed on the design to ensure it safely performed its function during a potential drop.
The Benefit
The shielded storage container provided an easy-to-use means of providing safe, long-term storage of the contaminated press at the waste storage facility.