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Safe transportation of radioactive material using appropriately designed, certified packages ensures protection of the public and environment using rigorous system packaging requirements. This protocol was conducted to determine the effects of drop testing on a Type B shipping package (DPP-3) performance per normal and hypothetical accident conditions tests. Preparation, testing, and post-test evaluations of a Type B shipping package tested to 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 71.71 and 71.73 requirements are presented. Six packages were subjected to free drop, puncture, and thermal tests per 10 CFR 71.73. The posttest helium leak test showed a leak rate < 1 × 10−7 He-cc/sec, indicating that the containment boundary and leak-tight environment were maintained. Statistical analyses were performed to determine changes in package performance. The null hypothesis was that measurements would not change enough from pre- to post-testing to show statistical significance, which would indicate too much variability in package design. A repeated measures t-test was used to analyze drum lid and containment vessel (CV) torques. All six CV lid torques were statistically significant, but only three drum lid torques were statistically significant. Therefore, lid design caused more variability than necessary when subjected to the horizontal-and-cold, vertical-lid-down, and corner-with-lid-up drop tests. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyzed package heights and diameters, with results on height indicating four of the six certification test units (CTUs) were statistically significant. Thus, CTU design caused more variability than necessary when subjected to horizontal-hot, horizontal-cold, corner-lid-up, and corner-lid-down tests. One-way ANOVA analysis of diameter indicated that all six CTUs were statistically significant. Thus, CTU design caused more variability than necessary when subjected to all tests. The DPP-3 has been shown to be an acceptable design for transport of radioactive materials, but statistical analysis revealed that package and test design can be improved to reduce variability in performance before and after testing.

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The safe transportation of radioactive material using appropriately designed and certified transportation packages is important for protecting the public and environment. In the United States, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulates all transportation of radioactive material with input from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. All packages that contain radioactive materials must be transported and regulated by the requirements set by the DOT Class 7 transportation of hazardous material. Federal regulations place strict administrative controls on the transport of radioactive materials. The two main goals for transporting radioactive materials are that (1) safety is primarily focused on the package because it is the first line of defense and (2) package integrity is directly related to the degree of the hazard of the radioactive material contents. The two-part goal ensures that the correct package is used. Type B packages are designed to transport radioactive materials with the highest level of radioactivity. Examples of material transported in Type B packaging include spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste, and high concentrations of other radioactive materials. The purpose of this test protocol was to determine the effects of structural and thermal testing on package performance in a Type B shipping package, Defense Program Package-1 (DPP-1).

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS), the management and operating contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), is currently responsible for the regulatory testing of a new Type B fissile material shipping package called the Defense Programs Package (DPP)-1. The DPP-1 is a drum packaging with an inner liner and a removable lid. Both the drum body and the lid are filled with an impact-limiting, thermal-insulating material that protects the inner containment vessel (CV) during normal conditions of transport (NCT) and hypothetical accident conditions (HAC) as defined by 10 US code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 71. In fiscal year 2021, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Package Testing Program (PTP), located at the National Transportation Research Center (NTRC), conducted Type B performance tests as prescribed in Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 71 (10 CFR 71) on seven DPP-1 prototype units. This test report documents test unit (TU) preparation, pretest condition, conditioning of each TU, NCT and HAC testing, and posttest measurements and observations made of the damage resulting from these tests.