A review of the safety features of 6M packagings for DOE programs

This report, prepared by a US Department of Energy (DOE) Task Force and organized for clarity into two-page modules, argues that the US Department of Transportation (DOT) Specification-6M packagings (hereafter referred to as 6M packaging, or simply 6M) merit continued DOE use and, if necessary, DOE certification. This report is designed to address the specific requirements of a Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP). While not a SARP, this report constitutes a compilation of all available documentation on 6M packagings. The authors individually, and the Task Force collectively, believe their investigation provides justification for the continued use of 6M packagings because they meet criteria for quality assurance and for safety under normal and accident conditions as defined by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations. This report may be used by DOE managers to assist in deliberations on future requirements for 6M packagings as they are required to support DOE programs. For the purpose of ready evaluation, this report includes categorical topics found in Nuclear Regulatory Guide 7.9, the topical guideline for SARPs. The format, however, will (it is hoped) pleasantly surprise customary reader expectations. For, while maintaining categorical headings and subheadings found in SARPs as a skeleton, the Task Force chose to adopt the document design principles developed by Hughes Aircraft in the 1960s, ''Sequential Thematic Organization of Publications'' (STOP). 37 figs