System and method for storing and leak testing a radioactive materials storage canister
AssigneeHoltec International
InventorStephen J. Agace
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for storing radioactive materials includes a canister having a first hermetically sealed vessel having a first cavity, a second hermetically sealed vessel having a second cavity, the first vessel positioned in the second cavity, an interstitial space between the first and second vessels, and a test port through the second vessel in fluidic communication with the interstitial space. A conduit has a first end fluidically coupled to the test port, and a removable seal is operably coupled to a second end of the conduit.
Claims27
A method of leak testing a storage canister for radioactive materials, the method comprising:
- a) positioning the canister in a cask cavity of a cask body, the canister comprising a first hermetically sealed vessel defining a first shell having a first cavity in which the radioactive materials are disposed and a second hermetically sealed vessel defining a second shell having a second cavity, the first vessel having a first lid enclosing the first cavity and the second vessel having a second lid enclosing the second cavity, the first vessel positioned in the second cavity such that an interstitial space exists between the first and second vessels comprising a first portion between the first and second shells and a second portion between the first and second lids, and wherein the second vessel includes a test port that is in fluidic communication with the second portion of the interstitial space between the first and second lids;
- b) coupling a first end of a conduit to the test port, the conduit extending from the first end to a second end located outside of the cask body;
- c) securing a cask lid to the cask body to substantially enclose the cask cavity;
- and
- d) sealingly coupling a leak detector to the second end of the conduit, the leak detector configured to draw gas from the conduit and the interstitial space and to perform a leak test comprising determining whether a leak exists in at least one of the first vessel and the second vessel.
A method of leak testing a canister containing radioactive materials, the method comprising:
- a) positioning the canister in a cask cavity of a cask body, the canister comprising a first hermetically sealed vessel defining a first shell having a first cavity in which the radioactive materials are disposed and a second hermetically sealed vessel defining a second shell having a second cavity, the first vessel having a first lid enclosing the first cavity and the second vessel having a second lid enclosing the second cavity, the first vessel positioned in the second cavity such that an interstitial space exists between the first and second vessels comprising a first portion between the first and second shells and a second portion between the first and second lids, and wherein the second vessel includes a test port that is in fluidic communication with the second portion of the interstitial space between the first and second lids;
- b) coupling a first end of a conduit to a test port of the canister that is in fluid communication with the second portion of the interstitial space between the first and second lids of the canister, the conduit extending from the first end to a second end;
- c) sealingly coupling a leak detector to the second end;
- d) drawing gas from the conduit using the leak detector to establish a vacuum within the conduit and the interstitial space;
- and
- e)d) monitoring the drawn gas for the presence of a first indicator which is representative of a leak in a fluidic containment boundary of the canister that contains the radioactive materials.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.