Wood crib fire test configuration with test package at right

SeaRAM is a Department of Energy program to evaluate the severity of maritime accidents and the response of radioactive material shipping containers to such accidents. Significant quantities of nuclear spent fuel are scheduled to be shipped from Japan to France and the United Kingdom for reprocessing and returned to Japan. Also, nuclear fuel that was shipped to foreign countries for use in their experimental research reactors will be returned to the United States. Accordingly, DOE made a commitment to Congress and other Federal agencies to conduct a study in collaboration with public agencies and private companies, both in the United States and abroad, involved with ensuring continued safe transportation of radioactive material by sea. DOE is cooperating wih the International Atomic Energy Agency by sharing results ofthe SeaRAM program.

One component of SeaRAM is to evaluate the effects of a shipboard fire on a simulated spent fuel cask. The results will be used in risk analyses that will be valuable in the preparation of Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements for sea transport of radioactive material.

Sandia conducted a series of fire tests in 1995 to gather information on potential shipboard accident conditions. In collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the fire tests were conducted at the Coast Guard Fire and Safety Test Detachment. A series of fires were set in one of the holds of the test ship Mayo Lykes, an cargo freighter located at Little Sand Island in Mobile Bay, Alabama. The responses of simulated cargoes and the ship holds were monitored. The results will be useful in assessing thermal response of radioactive material packages for a wide range of shipboard fires.