Criticality safety evaluation report for the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility`s process water handling system

Abstract

This report addresses the criticality concerns associated with process water handling in the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF). The controls and limitations on equipment design and operations to control potential criticality occurrences are identified. The effectiveness of equipment design and operation controls in preventing criticality occurrences during normal and abnormal conditions is evaluated and documented in this report. Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is removed from existing canisters in both the K East and K West Basins and loaded into a multicanister overpack (MCO) in the K Basin pool. The MCO is housed in a shipping cask surrounded by clean water in the annulus between the exterior of the MCO and the interior of the shipping cask. The fuel consists of spent N Reactor and some single pass reactor fuel. The MCO is transported to the CVDF near the K Basins to remove process water from the MCO interior and from the shipping cask annulus. After the bulk water is removed from the MCO, any remaining free liquid is removed by drawing a vacuum on the MCO`s interior. After cold vacuum drying is completed, the MCO is filled with an inert cover gas, the lid is replaced on the shipping cask, and the MCO is transported to the Canister Storage Building. The process water removed from the MCO contains fissionable materials from metallic uranium corrosion. The process water from the MCO is first collected in a geometrically safe process water conditioning receiver tank. The process water in the process water conditioning receiver tank is tested, then filtered, demineralized, and collected in the storage tank. The process water is finally removed from the storage tank and transported from the CVDF by truck.