DOE 2000. - Waste Isolation Pilot Plant - U.S. Department of Energy

WIPP RH PSAR DOE/WIPP-03-3174 CHAPTER 4
10-160B 55-Gallon Drum Lift Device
A drum lift device (Figure 4.2-11) is installed on each 55-gallon drum of radioactive waste prior to the
drum being placed on the drum pallet/carriage and loaded into a 10-160-B road cask. The drum lift
device is similar in construction to the drum lid bolt ring and is installed on the drum just below the first
chine below the lid. The lift device has two diametrically opposed wire cable loops that are used to lift
the drum from the carriage. When the wire cable loops are engaged by a lifting fixture, the symmetrical
construction and placement of the drum lift device allows the drum to be suspended, moved, and inserted
into the facility canister.
Transfer Complex Description
The transfer complex consists of a series of rooms with concrete walls up to 54 inches (137 cm) thick,
that provides shielding for the RH TRU waste canisters and drums when they are not in a road cask,
shielded insert, or the facility cask. The complex is located in the north side of the RH bay of the WHB
(Figure 4.2-12), and consists of the CUR, the Hot Cell, the Transfer Cell, and the Facility Cask Loading
Room.
The CUR floor is at reference elevation 100’-0" and at the east end of the complex. The Hot Cell floor is
31 ft (9.4 m) wide, 57 ft (17.3 m) long, and located at elevation 123’-6". The ceiling of the Hot Cell is at
elevation 156’-10". To the west of the Hot Cell between elevations 100’-0" and 124’-6" is the Facility
Cask Loading Room. Above this room is the manipulator repair room and above it is the crane
maintenance room. The Transfer Cell which is 10 ft (3 m) wide and 79 ft 5 in (24.2 m) long has a floor
elevation of 76’-0".
Cask Unloading Room
The CUR has 54 in (137 cm) thick concrete walls to provide a shielded area for lowering loaded 72B
casks into the Transfer Cell and unloading of RH waste drums from the 10-160B cask into the Hot Cell.
A 140-ton concrete-filled steel shield door at the entrance to the CUR provides radiation protection for
personnel outside the room during 10-160B cask unloading operations. A free-standing control panel for
the CUR 25-ton crane is located in the southwest corner of the room. The CUR shield door is
interlocked so that it must be closed before the Hot Cell shield plugs can be removed, conversely the Hot
Cell shield plugs are interlocked so that they cannot be removed when the CUR shield door is open.
The CUR shield door is 18.2 ft (5.7 m) long by 22.0 ft (6.7 m) high by 4.0 ft (1.2 m) thick. The shield
door is opened and closed, at a rate of approximately 15 ft (4.67 m) per minute, by a pneumatic
cylinder/piston and when moving is supported by a cushion of air exhausting from the door bottom, the
air cushion is referred to as an "air bearing". When closed, an inflatable seal is pressurized forming a
partial seal between the inside of the door and the surface around the CUR door opening. When the door
is closed, the exhaust air supply is removed, the loss of the air cushion causes the door to settle to the
floor.
4.2-6 January 28, 2003