Proposal for Qualification of Gas-Generating Radioactive Payloads for Transportation Within a Type B Package: The Recombiner/Getter Approach

This paper proposes an alternative approach to qualifying gas generating radioactive payloads for shipment within Type B packaging through application of hydrogen recombiner/getter technology. This work compliments an earlier paper by the first author describing a direct measurement approach to achieving the same qualification goal. Specifically, this paper discusses another part of the success at the Savannah River Site in authorizing onsite transfer of legacy Radioactive Materials within the DDF-1 package. The current safety basis requires a measurement of storage can pressure and placement of a recombiner/getter product inside the package containment vessel to prevent significant hydrogen accumulation within the closed volume surrounding the storage can. These two actions are sufficient to ensure 1) that deflagration pressure of a potential flammable gas mixture is within Normal Conditions of Transport, and 2) the consequences of a detonation shock wave are within the Hypothetical Accident Conditions.