The U.S. Department of Energy's Integrated Surveillance Program (ISP) is responsible for the storage and surveillance of plutonium-bearing material. During storage, plutonium-bearing material has the potential to generate hydrogen gas from the radiolysis of adsorbed water. The generation of hydrogen gas is a safety concern, especially when a container is breached within a glove box during destructive evaluation. To address this issue, the DOE established a standard (DOE, 2004) that sets the criteria for the stabilization and packaging of material for up to 50 years. The DOE has now packaged most of its excess plutonium for long-term storage in compliance with this standard. As part of this process, it is desirable to know within reasonable certainty the total maximum pressure of hydrogen and other gases within the 3013 container if safety issues and compliance with the DOE standards are to be attained. The principal goal of this investigation is to document the method and query used to estimate total (i.e. hydrogen and other gases) gas pressure within a 3013 container based on the material properties and estimated moisture content contained in the ISP database.
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