Gas Generation from Impure Plutonium Dioxide Materials

摘要

Over the last several years DOE has produced morethan 4,500 containers of plutonium-bearing material thatmeet the requirements of DOE’s standard for stabilizationand packaging for safe storage for up to 50 years.[1]These containers hold approximately 14.0 metric tons ofmetal, oxide, and impure oxide (30 wt% or greater ofplutonium plus uranium). Gases generated by the materialover the 50 year allowed storage lifetime will remainwithin the container and could lead to pressurization.Here the observations of several gases generated fromimpure plutonium dioxide powder are presented.