COST EFFICIENT TRU WASTE PACKAGING AND A SAFER AND FASTER METHOD OF REMOVING TRU WASTE FROM GLOVEBOXES

Transuranic (TRU) waste packaging from a glovebox has been done for years using bags as the primary containment. Bag operations, i.e. connecting and disconnecting from a glovebox are tedious and require explicit controls to perform safely. The bag operation itself takes good operators a minimum of 20 minutes per drum out performed. Multiple resistance factors come into play with the Transuranic Package Transporter-II (TRUPACT-II) and its governing document, the TRUPACT-II Authorized Methods for Payload Control (TRAMPAC) due to bag layers. Multiple bag layers along with the 90mil liner, all lower the fissile Decay Heat Limit (DHL) for the drum, in most cases, leaving the 55 gallon drum partially filled, thus a large amount of empty drum space is being characterized, shipped to, and buried at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site. A Safer, more efficient method of packaging more TRU waste per drum is the focus of this paper. A well known containment systems company by the name of la Calhene adapted its proven material transfer technology, the Double Port Transfer Exchange (DPTE™), to the application of Transuranic (TRU) waste management. The DPTE™ Bagless Transfer System [2] is a double door system mounted on the bottom of a glovebox and allows the loading of a standard 55-gallon Department of Transportation (DOT) 7A, Type A drum without the need for bags or sleeves to maintain leak-tight containment. A flanged container replaces the 90-mil liner and all bag layers in the standard 55-gallon drum. DPTE™ system interlocks eliminate inadvertent containment breach, protecting operators from Alpha (α) and Beta (β) radiation exposure. The operator never has to get close to the waste path during the drum connect or disconnect operation, minimizing As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) levels due to Gamma (γ) radiation exposure. The DPTE™ drum container flange connects to the glovebox flange very quickly and easily. The entire connect and disconnect of the drum takes less than two (2) minutes. The efficiency of DPTE™ operations will greatly increase throughput in both legacy repackaging operations and generated waste packaging operations with no increase in footprint or labor force. The DPTE™ drum liner, itself, maintains containment of fluorescence tracer within the liner after numerous DOT 7A, Type A certification drops. This reduces the risk of contamination in the event of an accidental drum breach.