Regulatory Guide 3.45

(Task CE 802-5) Revision 1 Nuclear Criticality Safety for Steel-Pipe Intersections Containing Aqueous Solution of Fissile Materials (Withdrawn 9/1998)

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Issue date:	04/30/1989
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RG-3.45 Rev 1
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q U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

REGULATORY

GUI OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY

RESEARCH REGULATORY

GUIDE 3.45 (Task CE 802-5) NUCLEAR CRITICALITY

SAFETY FOR STEEL-PIPE

INTERSECTIONS

CONTAINING

AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

OF FISSILE MATERIALS

A. INTRODUCTION

Section 70.22, "Contents of Applications," of 10 CFR Part 70, "Domestic Licensing of Special Nu clear Material," requires that applications for a spe cific license to own, acquire, deliver, receive, possess, use, or transfer special nuclear material contain pro posed procedures to avoid accidental conditions of criticality.

This regulatory guide provides guidance for complying with this portion of the Commission's regu lations by describing procedures acceptable to the NRC staff for the prevention of criticality accidents in the storage and processing of aqueous solutions of fis sile materials in steel-pipe intersections.

Any information collection activities mentioned in this regulatory guide are contained as requirements in 10 CFR Part 70, which provides the regulatory ba sis for this guide. The information collection require ments in 10 CFR Part 70 have been cleared under OMB Clearance No. 3150-0009.

B. DISCUSSION

ANSI/ANS-8.9-1987, "Nuclear Criticality Safety Criteria for Steel-Pipe Intersections Containing Aque ous Solutions of Fissile Material,"'

was prepared by Subcommittee

8, Fissionable Materials Outside Reac tors, of the Standards Committee of the American Nuclear Society. ANSI/ANS 8.9-1987 was approved 'Copies may be obtained from the American Nuclear Society, 555 N. Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 6052

5. USNRC REGULATORY

GUIDES Regulatory Guides are Issued to describe and make available to the pub lic methods acceptable to the NRC staff of implementing specific parts of the Commission's regulations, to delineate techniques used by the staff In evaluating specific problems or postulated accidents, or to pro vide guidance to applicants.

Regulatory Guides are not substitutes for regulations, and compliance with them is not required.

Methods and solutions different from those set out in the guides will be acceptable if they provide a basis for the findings requisite to the issuance or continu ance of a permit or license by the Commission.

This guide was issued after consideration of comments received from the public. Comments and suggestions for Improvements in these guides are encouraged at all times, and guides will be revised, as ap propriate, to accommodate comments and to reflect new Information or experience, Written comments may be submitted to the Regulatory Publications Branch, DFIPS, ARM, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washing ton, DC 20555.by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on April 3, 1987. ANSI/ANS-8.9-1987 provides specifications for pipe intersections containing homogeneous aqueous solutions of fissile materials.

All dimensions are inter preted as nominal values of schedule 10 or heavier standard steel pipe. Only single columns with inter sections are considered in the standard.

For multiple columns or columns in the vicinity of other fissile ma terials and the influence of environmental factors, the standard requires that experimental data or validated computational techniques be used to determine the safe configuration.

Criteria and data provided are based on criticality experiments and validated calcu lations that are generally applicable to homogeneous aqueous solutions of fissile materials.

Specific infor mation is included on fissile solutions containing ura nium enriched in the 2 35U or 233U isotope or pluto nium and on uranium solutions having a mU content not exceeding

5 weight-percent of the total uranium.

C. REGULATORY

POSITION The nuclear criticality safety practices and guid ance for calculating safe steel-pipe intersections for aqueous solutions of fissile materials contained in ANSI/ANS-8.9-1987 provide procedures generally acceptable to the NRC staff for the prevention of criticality accidents in the storage and processing of aqueous solutions of fissile materials.

The guides are Issued in the following ten broad divisions:

1. Power Reactors 2. Research and Test Reactors 3. Fuels and Materials Facilities

4. Environmental and Siting 5. Materials and Plant Protection

6. Products

7. Transportation

8. Occupational Health 9. Antitrust and Financial Review 10. General Copies of issued guides may be purchased from the Government Printing Office at the current GPO price. Information on current GPO prices may be obtained by contacting the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Post Office Box 37082, Washington, DC 20013-7082, telephone

(202)275-2060

or (202)275-2171.

Issued guides may also be purchased from the National Technical Infor mation Service on a standing order basis. Details on this service may be obtained by writing NTIS, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161.Revision 1 April 1989 DE

D. IMPLEMENTATION

The purpose of this section is to provide informa tion to applicants regarding the NRC staff's plan for using this regulatory guide. These methods reflect the latest general NRC ap proach to criticality safety in the storage and process ing of aqueous solutions of fissile materials in steel-pipe intersections.

Therefore, except in those cases in which the applicant proposes an acceptable alterna tive method for complying with the specified portions of the Commission's regulations, the method de scribed here will be used in the evaluation of submit-,'

tals for license applications submitted pursuant to 10 CFR Part 70.3.45-2 VALUE/IMPACT

STATEMENT A draft value/impact statement was published

_ with the proposed Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide 3.45 (Task CE 802-5) when the draft guide was pub lished for public comment in May 1988. No changes were necessary, so a separate value/impact statement for the final guide has not been prepared.

A copy of the draft value/impact statement is available for in spection and copying for a fee at the Commission's Public Document Room at 2120 L Street NW., Wash ington, DC, under Task CE 802-5.3.45-3 7 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 OFFICIAL BUSINESS PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300 FIRST CLASS MAIL POSTAGE ft FEES PAID USNRC PERMIT No. G-67