OPTIMUS®

Optimal Versatility for Various Waste Streams

OPTIMUS® – NAC’s OPTImal Modular Universal Shipping cask technology – is the shipping system designed to optimize versatility and cost-efficiency for packaging a wide range of waste with fissile material contents.

NAC is transforming the nuclear material packaging industry for difficult waste streams with its new OPTIMUS cask line.

OPTIMUS is an adaptable Type B packaging that can be reconfigured to accommodate a variety of waste challenges, including high fissile content and non-conforming transuranic (TRU) items. The packaging line will accommodate high activity and low activity contents and provides multiple options for shielding, transport, lift, and tie down configurations. The package is easily maneuvered and operated with forklifts and small cranes.

The product line has two versions: OPTIMUS-H and OPTIMUS-L. OPTIMUS-H is designed for high-activity contents: remote-handled transuranic waste (RH TRU) and spent fuel. OPTIMUS-L is designed for low-activity contents: contact-handled transuranic waste (CH TRU), High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), and mixed low-level radioactive waste (MLLW).

Safety features by design include:

• 10 CFR 71 Type B(U)F
• Designed to ASME Code Section III-NB and NF criteria
• Pressurization analysis, including non-compliant TRU waste
• Contingency combustion analysis, considering possible deflagration and detonation
• Up to 390 fissile grams equivalent (FGE) per drum for plutonium and uranium wastes

Both the OPTIMUS®-H and OPTIMUS-L Type B(U)F packages have been certified for use in the U.S. and Canada. NAC has delivered 18 OPTIMUS-L and 5 OPTIMUS-H packagings in support of a large decommissioning project in Canada and maintains its own fleet of 4 OPTIMUS-H and 4 OPTIMUS-L packaging systems.