An Overview of the Development of IP-2 ISO Freight Containers in the UK

This paper records the establishment within the UK of the use of IP-2 packages for Low Level Waste (LLW) based on the design features and established ISO standards for ISO Freight Containers for which Croft was the prime mover. The first designs developed were required for the shipment of LLW to BNFL, Sellafield and Drigg and for the emplacement of waste in the Drigg LLW vaults. These designs were established by Croft Associates Ltd (Croft) and adopted by a UK industry wide group called “The ISO Procurement Club” which coordinated the technical and commercial requirements of the principal producers of LLW in the UK. Croft managed The ISO Procurement Club, including managing the manufacture, storage and distribution of the first 2,000 IP-2 ISO Freight Containers built in the UK. Croft carried out all the design work, developed design approaches (especially leak testable seals and lid closure systems), and established standards which have since been adopted in a DfT design guide. Croft was also involved in the development of the special provisions for Freight Containers that have been included in the IAEA TS-R-1 Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials. Since the early designs, there has been a requirement for a number of different sizes of IP-2 ISO Freight Containers and a number of special designs for large heavy items requiring special internal tiedown arrangements. Croft has designed most of the IP-2 ISO Freight Containers used and currently in use in the UK for the transport and storage of LLW. The paper details the key requirements for the design of IP-2 ISO Freight Containers, summarises the designs established since their initial use over 20 years ago and the designs currently in use in the UK, and gives outline details of shielded IP-2 ISO Freight Containers proposed for emplacement in the UK radioactive waste repository. Background Since the early days of the UK nuclear industry, Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLW) has been disposed of in waste disposal vaults at the Low Level Waste Repository located near Drigg in Cumbria. This facility is located near BNFL (now Sellafield Ltd) and accepts most of the LLW in the UK which arises from the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel from power reactors and the operation and decommissioning of nuclear power stations and other nuclear facilities. The Low Level Waste Repository used to be managed by BNFL but now comes under the ownership of the NDA and is managed on their behalf by LLW Repository Ltd.