Conceptual Design of Equipment and Operations for Treatment of Fermi-1 Blanket Material

The U.S. DOE manages 34 MTHM of irradiated sodium-bonded Fermi-1 blanket material at INL. Disposition of the material in a repository may be precluded due to the reactive characteristic of its bond sodium metal. A MEDE process has been developed and demonstrated at INL for bond sodium removal from Fermi-1 blanket material. An approach for treatment of the irradiated Fermi-1 blanket material was developed and centers around a “one can in - one can out” concept in a shielded glovebox within an existing nuclear facility (FCF) at INL. Accordingly, the Fermi-1 blanket material will be transferred from its current storage facility at INTEC to FCF using a new cask. The contents of each FSC will be processed as described, resulting in sodium-free blanket material in a DSC, a FSC containing separated hardware, and deactivated sodium metal in 30-gal drums. In short, the proposed treatment approach provides a disposition pathway for the 34 MTHM in Fermi-1 blanket material.