Recovering New Type of Sources by Off-Site Source Recovery Project for WIPP Disposal - 16604
OSRP uses two types of eligible packaging configurations for Cm-244 and Cf-252 disposal to WIPP: an S-100 drum and a 12'' Pipe Overpack (POC) drum. Both types of packaging are WIPP accepted configurations for Contact Handled (CH) waste, which offer different advantages and disadvantages when used in the case of the two isotopes. The S-100 is a poly-shielded type A, 55 gallon drum, containing a 6'' diameter POC. The 12'' POC drum is a type A, 55 gallon drum without the internal poly-shield and with a pipe component of 12'' diameter. The S-100 drum presents the advantage of poly-shielding which is very important for neutron sources, such as the Cf-252, or Cm-244Be, at the expense of reduced internal volume. The 12'' POC drum presents a larger pipe component accommodating many more sources, like Cm-244 alpha emitters or shielded Cf-252, for which the CH dose rate is not an issue. All the sources prepared for disposal to WIPP are required to be special form, as defined in 49 CFR 173.403. When OSRP recovers normal form sources, these can be packaged in a field closable DOT certified Special Form Capsule (SFC) model II or model III, thus becoming special form. These capsules are then packaged in the type-A containers. The difference between the two types of packaging is that the 12'' POC can hold more sources, or a mix of sources and capsules at the expense of less shielding. This becomes important when the TRU content criteria of 100 nCi/g of TRU waste has to be met for the drums that are packaged for WIPP disposal. Measured neutron dose rates for Cm-244 packaged in S-100 agree reasonably well with calculated dose rates based on the models developed with MCNP. Future work will include validating the model for Cm-244 packaged in 12'' POC. A 1:1 ratio of neutron to gamma is expected for Cm-244Be dose rates packaged in S-100 drums. For Cf-252 packaged in S-100 and 12'' POC, the contribution of Cf-250 to the total emission neutron rate had to be taken into account due to the increasing role of Cf-250 as sources age. The uncertainty in the measurement of Cf-252 neutron dose rate for S-100 drum was quite high due to a high neutron background. A larger Cf- 252 source needs to be used for measurements in the future, in order to fully validate the model developed. A better agreement for measured versus calculated rate was obtained for a Cf-252 packaged in 12'' POC. For the WIPP disposal of these sources, OSRP will use the best packaging configuration for these isotopes in order to minimize the dose rate and maximize the TRU content. The S-100 packaging will be used for Cf-252 and Cm-244Be sources, when neutron dose reduction by the poly-shielding is important. Neutron dose rates will be estimated using the new MCNP correlations.