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Berg, John M.

Publications and source records attributed to Berg, John M..

3013 Fire Test 2020: Post-Test Measurements and Analysis

Sandia National Laboratory conducted fire tests on ten 3013 containers with varying amounts of water. The containers with attached manifolds were sent to Los Alamos National Laboratory for post-test measurements of the plastic deformation, the amount of water remaining on the material post-test and the mass loss. The measurements of the plastic deformation were used to determine the free gas volume in each container and manifold post-test. The disassembly of each container was documented by photographs. The amount of pre-test gas constituents is also reported using data in the Sandia Final Report.

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Technical Basis for Extending Storage Life of DOE-STD-3013 Containers

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Technical Standard for Stabilization, Packaging, and Storage of Plutonium-Bearing Materials, DOE-STD-3013 [USDOE 2018], provides requirements for packaging stabilized metals, alloys, and oxides containing at least 30 weight percent (wt%) plutonium (Pu) plus uranium for storage for up to 50 years. This document provides the technical basis for extending that storage duration to up to 100 years for metals and alloys, and oxides that do not present a corrosion risk to the integrity of the container.

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Potential safety impacts associated with production of gaseous PuF 6 due to reactions between 3013-compliant PuO 2 with Novec TM 1230 at temperature

A part of the NNSA/SRNS Surplus Plutonium Disposition (SPD) project is a planned expansion of an existing facility with capabilities to handle, process, package, and characterize large amounts of plutonium oxide materials for permanent disposition at WIPP. The facility design for this future processing capability will include glovebox operations, HEPA filters, and exhaust/ventilation systems. An NNSA review of the facility support systems included comments on the potential residual reactivity of previously-stabilized PuO 2 , and on the possibility of chemical interactions between stabilized PuO 2 and a new fire suppressant (Novec TM 1230), a replacement for chlorinated/brominated compounds such as HALON TM , to be employed in the event of a room/glovebox fire where PuO 2 will be processed.

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MIS Shelf-Life Final Report for Plutonium Oxide Item CAN92 (SSR147) from Rocky Flats Analytical Laboratory Operations

A plutonium/uranium oxide material from the Material Identification and Surveillance (MIS) Program inventory has been studied to determine the gas generation and corrosion behavior in a storage environment. Sample CAN92 represents plutonium/uranium oxides stored in 3013 containers. The material originated in the analytical laboratory at Rocky Flats. This study followed over time the gas pressure and composition of a sample with nominally 0.5 wt% water in a sealed container with an internal volume scaled to 1/400th of the volume of a 3013 container. Gas compositions had been measured periodically over 5 ½ years. The maximum observed gas pressure from gas generation was 117 kPa. The increase over the initial pressure of 77.5 kPa was largely due to the generation of nitrogen and carbon dioxide with minor amounts of hydrogen and nitrous oxide. The internal components of SSR147 were inspected 6.5 years after it was removed from the array. The inside surfaces of the inner bucket exposed to the original sample for 1,937 days had an etched appearance and general corrosion. No pitting was observed on the inner bucket that held the sample.

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