Packaging University

• University of Nevada, Reno Graduate Certificate in Nuclear Packaging:  The U.S. Department of Energy's Packaging Certification Program (DOE PCP) has been working with the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) Mechanical Engineering Department since 2013 to develop an accredited graduate-level nuclear packaging program.  The Graduate Certificate in Nuclear Packaging (GCNP) provides a curriculum in packaging for nuclear and other radioactive materials that complements graduate programs in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Engineering and is more applied-knowledge-based than research-based.  The admission requirements is an earned baccalaureate degree in mechanical, materials, nuclear or a closely-related engineering field, or a baccalaureate degree and background in project management related to packaging of nuclear and other radioactive materials.  The Certificate and its courses have been approved by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), Redmond, WA.
  
  The purposes of developing the Certificate are to (a) to encourage students to complete a curriculum in packaging safety and security of nuclear and other radioactive materials that has both depth and breadth, and (b) provide a graduate-level curriculum designed to give students an advantage when seeking employment or advancement in the area of packaging of nuclear and other radioactive materials, or related fields.
  
  The following seven courses were developed and offered on a regular basis for DOE PCP by the Argonne (ANL), Lawrence Livermore (LLNL), Sandia (SNL), and Savannah River (SRNL) National Laboratories, and are are assigned the following UNR Mechanical Engineering (ME) course numbers:
  
  
  
  ME 691 - ASME Pressure Vessel Code for Nuclear Transport and Storage, 1 credit (offered only at ​ANL)
  ME 692 - QA for Radioactive Material Packaging, 1 credit (offered only at ​ANL)
  ME 694 - Nuclear and Other Radioactive Materials Transport Security, 2 credits (offered only at ​ANL)
  ME 695 - SARP Review and Confirmatory Analysis, 2 credits (offered only at LLNL)
  ME 696 - Management of SARP Preparation, 1 credit (offered only at SRNL)
  ME 697 - Radioactive Material Package Operations and Leak Testing, 1 credit (offered only at SRNL)
  ME 698 - Thermal Modeling and Testing of RAM Packages, 1 credit (offered only at SNL)
  
  Students who enroll in these ​DOE PCP classes will receive UNR graduate credit if they: (1) Gain special graduate admission to UNR, (2) Enroll in the UNR course and pay tuition, and (3) Pass the course. These credits may be applied toward graduate degrees at UNR or any other university that accepts that credit.
  
  If students receive a C grade or better in a class, then the student will be able to use the credits toward UNR’s 9-credit GCNP. To earn the Certificate, students must complete ME 691, ME 692 and ME 69​5, which are required. They must take 5 additional elective credits from the above list. Finally, to earn the GCNP, students must earn least a B average in the courses.
  
  For more information regarding admission and application to the UNR program, please refer to the link, https://www.unr.edu/degrees/nuclear-packaging/certificate, or contact the Program Officer, Dawn Snyder at dawnas@unr.edu or by telephone at (800) 233-8928.

• ME 692 - QA for Radioactive Material Packaging ($1700 tuition and course materials), April 23-27, Argonne, IL:  The objective of this one-week course is to help participants gain a working knowledge of the quality assurance (QA) principles and methods for satisfying those regulatory safety requirements for packagings and casks used in the transportation and storage of radioactive material, including spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste.  Course highlights include the following: overview of federal regulations that govern (1) packaging and transportation of radioactive material and (2) dry cask storage systems for spent nuclear fuel; DOE Orders and NRC guidance documents, including Regulatory Guides, NUREG reports, and Standard Review Plans; ASME NQA-1 requirements on organization, quality assurance program, design control, inspection, test control, corrective action, and others; test requirements: ASME Code & 10 CFR 71/72 and Best Practices in Type B Packaging Testing; ANSI N14.5 Leakage Rate Testing; commercial-grade dedication and software QA; graded approach to establish QA requirements for components important to safety (small-group exercise); lessons-learned from QA audits and inspections at facilities using packagings and casks; DOE Quality Assurance Approval Program (QAAP) for transportation packagings; and DOE PCP packaging certification process and lessons learned.
  
  Register online at http://www.ne.anl.gov/training/qa/.  If you have any questions about this course, please contact Sharon Ryan at (630) 252-3754 or ryans@anl.gov.


• ME 696 - Management of SARP Preparation, May 7-11, Aiken, SC, ($1,095 tuition and course materials):  This course provides a basic understanding of the steps necessary to manage the development, submission, and utilization of a Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP).  This course covers: the regulatory requirements, guidance, and applicable codes and standards used during the development of the SARP; templates for the development of the SARP writing team and for estimating the scope, schedule, and cost associated with the development of the SARP; various ways to evaluate radioactive material packages as well as format and write the SARP; the internal and external reviews associated with a SARP, as well as interaction with the regulatory body that reviews the SARP for completeness; and the processes associated with renewals, exceptions, special permits, and decertifications.  Prospective participants include DOE and its contractors and other agency and industry personnel who are responsible for SARP management; SARP leads, writers, and developers; engineers and package designers; and others who support Type B and fissile radioactive material packaging and transportation operations.  
  
  Register online ​at http://www.cvent.com/d/xtqsgy/1Q.  If you have any questions concerning this course, please contact Ed Ketusky at (803) 725-2641 or edward.ketusky@srnl.doe.gov.  
  
  
• The SARP Generalist Course ($2000 tuition and course materials), June 4-8, 2018, at the National Transportation Research Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN is designed for project managers, supervisors, Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS)/Shielding subject matter experts (SME), or SMEs in non-NCS/shielding technical areas (e.g., structural, thermal, package design, etc.) who need to better understand how the NCS/Shielding analyses fit in the broader SARP documentation.  Specifically, the Generalist Course provides an overview of the regulations and guidelines for the criticality and shielding analysis for a SARP, and the course shows how the NCS/shielding chapters integrate with the other parts of the SARP.  Students in the Generalist Course will review an actual SARP document after the course material is presented to emphasize the key elements of the shielding and criticality analyses.  
  
  Register online ​at https://public.ornl.gov/conferences/sarp/index.shtml.  If you have any questions concerning this course, please contact Douglas G. Bowen at bowendg@ornl.gov or (865) 576-0315.  
  
  
• ME 691 - ASME Pressure Vessel Code for Nuclear Transport and Storage ($1,600 tuition and course materials), June 18-22, 2018, Argonne, IL:  The objective of this 4.5-day course is to help participants gain an understanding of the regulatory basis, current design practice, and engineering rationale for applying the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code to the packaging and transportation of radioactive material and the storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. Course highlights include lectures on the following: overview of federal regulations that govern (1) packaging and transportation of radioactive material and (2) dry cask storage systems for spent nuclear fuel; DOE Orders and NRC guidance documents, including standard review plans, regulatory guides, and NUREG reports; DOE/NRC lessons learned from certifying transportation packages and licensing dry cask storage systems; discussion of the ASME Code, with emphasis on Section III, Division 3, Containments for Transportation and Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High Level Radioactive Material and Waste, and discussion of Section III, Division 1; Section VIII, Division 1; and Sections II, IX, and XI; code and non-Code materials, containment loadings, design considerations with emphasis on design-by-analysis rules, and design of internal support structures; fabrication, welding, examination, quality assurance, test requirements, design qualification by physical testing, and containment/confinement requirements for leakage rates; structural, thermal, containment/confinement; shielding and criticality safety analysis considerations; aging management programs and time-limited aging analyses; and inspection and monitoring technologies.  
  
  Contact Sharon Ryan at (630) 252-3754 or ryans@anl.gov to reserve a seat until online registration is open.
  
  
• ME 697 - Radioactive Material Package Operation and Leak Testing ($1300 tuition and course materials), July 9-13, 2018, Aiken, SC:  The objective of this one-week training course is to provide a basic understanding of the steps necessary to operate and prepare radioactive material packages for shipment as well as perform pre-shipment (post-load) leak testing and routine maintenance. Proper operating and leak testing of radioactive material shipping packages is integral to the safe shipment and transport of radioactive material shipping packages. The course combines the discussion of proper operations (opening, loading, closing, maintenance, and handling) along with discussion of leak testing of radioactive material shipping packages and hands-on experience with both operating and leak testing of radioactive material shipping packages. The course consists of technical presentations, discussions, applicable videos, examples, hands-on exercises, and team exercises; all with emphasis on practical approaches to the development, evaluation and implementation of programs for the operation and leak testing of radioactive material shipping packages.
  
  The primary audience for this course is individuals that prepare, load/unload, operate (open/close), and maintain Type B, Type AF, and Type A packages for shipment of radioactive materials, those that prepare procedures and documentation related to these activities, as well as supervisors and managers of these individuals.   
  
  Register online ​at http://www.cvent.com/d/8tqtsh/1Q.  If you have any questions concerning this course, please contact Bradley Loftin at (803) 725-5319 or bradley.loftin@srnl.doe.gov.  
  
  See RAMPAC https://rampac.energy.gov/home/education/packaging-university#FY2018 for listing of all (ten) Packaging Certification Program courses and latest schedule.  Courses with ME 6xx prefixes are available for graduate credit at University of Nevada (UNR), Reno.  See UNR website at https://www.unr.edu/degrees/nuclear-packaging/certificate for additional information about their certificate program.

• FY 2018 Course Schedule: Listed below are the Packaging Certification Program (PCP) courses planned in FY 2018.  Courses with ME 6xx prefixes are available for graduate credit at University of Nevada, Reno.  Registration information and course fees will be emailed to RAMPAC subscribers (click here and follow the instructions to be added to the RAMPAC email list) and posted on this page when the registration websites are activated.  Note to DOE/DOE Contractors:   DOE PCP courses are an exempted event and therefore are not subject to the conference management approval and reporting process. (see Exemption approval for PCP_Courses_FY18)

Date	Title (course fee)	Location
April 11-13 & 16-18, 2018	RAM Packaging QC/QA: Part 1 – Welding / NDE Quality Control, & Part 2 – Software Quality Assurance	Pleasanton, CA
April 23-27, 2018	ME 692 – Quality Assurance for Radioactive Material Packaging	Argonne, IL
May 7-11, 2018	ME 696 - Management of SARP Preparation	Aiken, SC
June 4-8, 2018	Generalist Course - Radiation Shielding and Nuclear Criticality Safety	Oak Ridge, TN
June 18-22, 2018	ME 691 – ASME Pressure Vessel Code for Nuclear Transport and Storage	Argonne, IL
July 9-13, 2018	ME 697 - Radioactive Material Package Operations and Leak Testing	Aiken, SC
August 14-17 & 20-23, 2018	ME 695 – Methods for Reviewing Safety Analysis Reports for Packages and Performing Confirmatory Analysis	Pleasanton, CA
September 10-14, 2018	ME 694 – Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material Transport Security	Argonne, IL
September 17-21, 2018	SARP Analyst: Radiation Shielding and Nuclear Criticality Safety	Oak Ridge, TN
November 5-9, 2018	ME 698 - Thermal Modeling and Testing of RAM Packages	Albuquerque, NM