Summary of an assessment of potential waterborne accidents during transport of the Shippingport reactor pressure vessel and neutron shield tank assembly

The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, was constructed in the mid-1950's to demonstrate pressurized water reactor technology and to generate electric power. The Shippingport reactor reached the end of its design life in 1984 and was turned over to the US Department of Energy of decommissioning. The reactor pressure vessel/neutron shield tank was removed as a unit and transported by barge from the Shippingport Project Site on the Ohio River to the US Department of Energy Hanford Site in Richland, Washington, for interment. This paper summarizes the work performed to provide supplemental information to the safety analysis report for packaging on hazards associated with transporting the package by water. Potential waterborne accident scenarios were identified along with the probable accident recovery mitigation measures, which could have been initiated, if required. The risk evaluations are based on an assessment of the probabilities of an accident in which the barge does not sink; an accident in which the barge sinks, but with no damage to the reactor pressure vessel/neutron shield tank; an accident in which the barge sinks, but with possible damage to the package; and for accidents resulting in a postulated fire. 5 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.