Polymer Lifetime in Plutonium Storage Containers - 18508

The plutonium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory utilizes stainless steel containers for interim storage of plutonium compounds, metals, alloys, and process residues. Various polymer materials are used in these containers, including neoprene rubber gaskets, Viton O-rings, polytetrafluoroethylene membranes, and polyvinyl chloride bags. The DOE Manual, M441.1-1, requires storage containers to have a technically justified design life, and these polymer components play a key role in the determination of the overall design life for the containers. The capabilities at Los Alamos for monitoring degradation and estimating the design life of polymer materials used in plutonium storage containers will be described, along with the results of the lifetime determination studies for the polymer components used in SAVY-4000 and Hagan containers and some proposed alternatives. (authors)