Regulatory Guide 3.45

Nuclear Criticality Safety for Steel-Pipe Intersections Containing Aqueous Solutions of Fissile Materials

ML122430316
Person / Time
Issue date:	04/30/1989
From:	Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
To:
References
CE 802-5 RG 3.45, Rev. 1
Download: ML122430316 (4)

Z ~ .- r"~ , %- (U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONREGULATORYRevision 1April 1989GUIDEOFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCHREGULATORY GUIDE 3.45(Task CE 802-5)NUCLEAR CRITICALITY SAFETY FOR STEEL-PIPE INTERSECTIONS CONTAININGAQUEOUS SOLUTIONS OF FISSILE MATERIALS

A. INTRODUCTION

Section 70.22, "Contents of Applications," of10 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 ofcriticality. This regulatory guide provides guidance forcomplying with this portion of the Commission's regu-lations by describing procedures acceptable to theNRC staff for the prevention of criticality accidents inthe storage and processing of aqueous solutions of fis-sile materials in steel-pipe intersections.Any information collection activities mentionedin this regulatory guide are contained as requirementsin 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 underOMB Clearance No. 3150-0009.

B. DISCUSSION

ANSI/ANS-8.9-1987, "Nuclear Criticality SafetyCriteria for Steel-Pipe Intersections Containing Aque-ous Solutions of Fissile Material,"' was prepared bySubcommittee 8, Fissionable Materials Outside Reac-tors, of the Standards Committee of the AmericanNuclear 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 60525.by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)on April 3, 1987.ANSI/ANS-8.9-1987 provides specifications forpipe intersections containing homogeneous aqueoussolutions of fissile materials. All dimensions are inter-preted as nominal values of schedule 10 or heavierstandard steel pipe. Only single columns with inter-sections are considered in the standard. For multiplecolumns or columns in the vicinity of other fissile ma-terials and the influence of environmental factors, thestandard requires that experimental data or validatedcomputational techniques be used to determine thesafe configuration. Criteria and data provided arebased on criticality experiments and validated calcu-lations that are generally applicable to homogeneousaqueous solutions of fissile materials. Specific infor-mation is included on fissile solutions containing ura-nium enriched in the 235U or 233U isotope or pluto-nium and on uranium solutions having a 23U contentnot 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 foraqueous solutions of fissile materials contained inANSI/ANS-8.9-1987 provide procedures generallyacceptable to the NRC staff for the prevention ofcriticality accidents in the storage and processing ofaqueous solutions of fissile materials.USNRC REGUIATORY GUIDESRegulatory Guides are Issued to describe and make available to the pub-lic methods acceptable to the NRC staff of implementing specific partsof the Commission's regulations, to delineate techniques used by thestaff in evaluating specific problems or postulated accidents, or to pro-vide guidance to applicants. Regulatory Guides are not substitutes forregulations, and compliance with them is not required. Methods andsolutions different from those set out in the guides will be acceptable ifthey 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 fromthe public. Comments and suggestions for improvements in theseguides are encouraged at all times, and guides will be revised, as ap-propriate, to accommodate comments and to reflect new information orexperience.Written comments may be submitted to the Regulatory PublicationsBranch, DFIPS, ARM, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washing-ton, DC 20555.The guides are Issued in the following ten broad divisions:1. Power Reactors2. Research and Test Reactors3. Fuels and Materials Facilities4. Environmental and Siting5. Materials and Plant Protection6. Products7. Transportation8. Occupational Health9. Antitrust and Financial Review10. GeneralCopies of issued guides may be purchased from the Government PrintingOffice at the current GPO price. Information on current GPO prices maybe obtained by contacting the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.Government Printing Office, Post Office Box 37082, Washington, DC20013-70B2, 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 beobtained by writing NTIS, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161.

D. IMPLEMENTATION

The purpose of this section is to provide informa-tion to applicants regarding the NRC staff's plan forusing 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 inwhich the applicant proposes an acceptable alterna-tive method for complying with the specified portionsof the Commission's regulations, the method de-scribed here will be used in the evaluation of submit-tals for license applications submitted pursuant to10 CFR Part 70.3.45-2 VALUE/IMPACT STATEMENTA draft value/impact statement was publishedwith the proposed Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide3.45 (Task CE 802-5) when the draft guide was pub-lished for public comment in May 1988. No changeswere necessary, so a separate value/impact statementfor the final guide has not been prepared. A copy ofthe draft value/impact statement is available for in-spection and copying for a fee at the Commission'sPublic Document Room at 2120 L Street NW., Wash-ington, DC, under Task CE 802-5.3.45-3 UNITED STATESNUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONWASHINGTON, D.C. 20555FIRST CLASS MAILPOSTAGE b FEES PAIDUSNRCPERMIT No. G,67OFFICIAL BUSINESSPENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300