Westinghouse Electric Corporation

The United States of America as Represented by the United States

Ralph E Watts

Charles W Mallory

Arthur W Lilley

John E Razor

Steven J Winston

Billy C Stricklin

William S Sanner, Jr

Joseph B Paladino

William H Blissell

Ralph R Disibio

A ground-disposable module for encapsulating radioactive waste contained within shipping containers is disclosed herein. Generally, the modules comprise a rigid outer container for providing a first radiation and water barrier for the waste, an inner container formed from the shipping container for providing a second radiation and water barrier, and a central layer of grout which forms still another radiation and water barrier and which provides the rigid outer container with a substantially solid interior which reinforces the compressive strength of the module. The rigid outer container may hold a plurality of shipping containers which have been compacted. Such compaction maximizes the number of containers which may be encapsulated into a particular module, and increases the overall compressive strength of the module by increasing the integrity and strength of the shipping containers and wastes grouted therein. In order to facilitate handling, the outer containers of the modules includes a pattern of grooves at its bottom portion for receiving the forks of a forklift, and a plurality of I-bolt anchors at its top portion which are detachably connectable to the hooks of a hoist. In the preferred embodiment, the outer containers of the modules are hexagonally shaped, right-angled prisms. The hexagonal prism shape of the outer container of the module allows the modules to form subsidence-free, solid arrays which have sufficient compressive strength to support an earthen-type trench cover, yet are flexibly conformable to changes in the shape of the trench which might occur from a seismic disturbance.

Nuclear waste packing module

An improved rail assembly and method of construction thereof is disclosed herein that is particularly adapted for use with a crane trolley in a hot cell environment which is exposed to airborne and liquidborne radioactive contaminants. The rail assembly is generally comprised of a support wall having an elongated, rail-housing recess having a floor, side wall and ceiling. The floor of the recess is defined at least in part by the load-bearing surface of a rail, and is substantially flat, level and crevice-free to facilitate the drainage of liquids out of the recess. The ceiling of the recess overhangs and thereby captures trolley wheels within the recess to prevent them from becoming dislodged from the recess during a seismic disturbance. Finally, the interior of the recess includes a power track having a slot for receiving a sliding electrical connector from the crane trolley. The power track is mounted in an upper corner of the recess with its connector-receiving groove oriented downwardly to facilitate the drainage of liquidborne contaminants and to discourage the collection of airborne contaminants within the track.

Rail assembly for use in a radioactive environment

A land disposal site for the disposal of nuclear waste is disclosed which generally comprises a trench, a non-rigid, water-shedding cap formed from alluvium and silt which overlies this depression, and a solid array of waste-containing modules disposed in the trench for both encapsulating the waste and for supporting the non-rigid cap over the depression. The floor of the trench preferably includes a capillary barrier formed from a layer of gravel so that ground water will not seep up into the modules buried within the disposal site. The top surfaces of the modules are covered with a sloped layer of alluvium, which in turn is covered with another capillary barrier of gravel. This capillary barrier of gravel carries a sloped layer of silt which sheds running surface water and directs it into a pair of drains disposed on either side of the trench. The silt layer is capped with a final layer of graded rip-rap which protects it from wind and water erosion, and which forms a natural radiation and intrusion barrier. Finally, the modules disposed within the disposal site are preferably uniformly shaped, hexagonal prisms which are capable of being solidly packed into a structure which is flexibly conformable with any changes in shape of the trench brought about by seismic or other natural disturbances.

Nuclear waste disposal site

The system of the invention includes a downender station 10 which receives and secures a spent fuel assembly 20 in a vertical disposition and is then pivoted to a horizontal position after the upper nozzle has been removed, and a second station 12 generally aligned with the first station includes a multiple rod gripper 56 which is used to grip onto the exposed fuel rod ends and pull the fuel rods to an upper horizontal location in the second station, with horizontal and vertical combs 60 and 62 maintaining the original square pitch array of the rods, and the rods are then dropped into a reconfiguring structure 70 where they assume a more compact array, the rods then being pushed by pusher 74 into a storage canister 26 carried by the downender below the fuel assembly 20. The arrangement permits compacting fuel rods from two fuel assemblies into a storage canister 26 having approximately the same transverse cross-sectional area as a single fuel assembly.

Spent fuel rod horizontal consolidation system and method

A nuclear waste packaging facility for receiving both contact and remote handled nuclear waste in portable shipping containers and encapsulating this waste into ground-disposable modules is disclosed herein. The facility generally comprises a separately shielded section for processing remote handled waste including various remotely-controlled winches and conveyors, as well as a second, separately shielded section for processing contact handled waste. A module transportation and loading section is disposed between the remote and contact handled waste sections of the facility, and places empty module containers in a loading position adjacent each of the two, separately shielded sections of the facility. Both the contact and remote handled waste sections include radiation and ultrasonic detectors for determining the radioactive level of the waste, and whether or not any of this waste is in liquid form. The outputs of these detectors are connected to a central computer, which generates a signal indicating how much of the contact or non-contact handled waste may be loaded into a particular module container before the surface radiation of the completed module will exceed a certain, preselected limit. Additionally, the computer actuates an alarm circuit when either of the ultrasonic detectors generates a signal indicating that any of the waste is in liquid form. Finally, a common grouting station having an extendable trough may be used to grout modules loaded from either the contact or remote handled waste sections of the facility. The facility is preferably close to a land burial site to minimize the distance the completed modules must be transported before they are permanently buried.

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Library, PA, United States of America

Ralph E Watts