LEAK TEST DEMONSTRATION OF A REPRESENTATIVE SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL TRANSPORTATION CANISTER

The Battelle Pacific Northwest Division, operator of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. DOE, is seeking a contractor to perform a leak test demonstration of a representative Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) transportation package. The scope of work includes system design, test planning, test execution, and test reporting. The test activity supports operations planning for a federal Consolidated Storage Facility (CSF) under Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulation. • The contractor will be responsible for designing and executing a leak test demonstration on a representative SNF transportation package. • The test will involve helium leakage rate testing to verify the containment boundary of SNF canisters in transport packages. • The contractor will be required to provide a report on the test results, which will be used in further CSF development activities by U.S. DOE. • The contractor will need to address the technical challenge of removing the backfill helium from the overpack during the test to avoid false positive results.