Safety analysis report for the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility, phase 1, supporting civil/structural construction

The US Department of Energy established the K Basins Spent Nuclear Fuel Project to address safety and environmental concerns associated with deteriorating spent nuclear fuel presently stored under water in the Hanford Site's K Basins, which are located near the Columbia River. Recommendations for a series of aggressive projects to construct and operate systems and facilities to manage the safe removal of K Basins fuel were made in WHC-EP-0830, Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel Recommended Path Forward,' and its subsequent update, WHC-SD-SNF-SP-005, Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel Project Integrated Process Strategy for K Basins Fuel. The integrated process strategy recommendations include the following process steps: fuel preparation activities at the K Basins, including removing the fuel elements from their K Basin canisters, separating fuel particulate from fuel elements and fuel fragments greater than 0.6 cm (0.25 in.) in any dimension, removing excess sludge from the fuel and fuel fragments by means of flushing, as necessary, and packaging the fuel into multicanister overpacks; removal of free water by draining and vacuum drying at the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF), a new facility in the 100 K Area of the Hanford Site. This report is contains the safety analysis for the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility, Phase 1