ARIES pit disassembly-safeguards issues for transparency
- Los Alamos National Labs., NM (United States)
Historic changes are now occurring in U.S. nonproliferation and arms control policy. The quantity of nuclear weapons required to provide a deterrence has decreased (especially with the end of the Cold War). Further, various bilateral and multilateral treaties now require the removal of numerous nuclear weapons from the U.S. stockpile. Although the removal of such weapons appears straightforward, the final disposition of the surplus weapons-grade nuclear material must be carefully considered. Domestically, several plutonium disposition plans are now under consideration concerning long-term safety, materials accounting, environmental impact, accessibility, and long-term containment. The Automated Retirement and Integrated Extraction System (ARIES) currently under development at Los Alamos National Laboratory is one such disposition method for the disassembly of plutonium weapons components (pits). The ARIES system integrates and automates several features: disassembly of pits, consolidation of the plutonium material, on-line measurement of final products, waste streams, and long-term packaging. Clearly, in any plutonium disposition plan, the safeguards aspects of materials control and accounting and the security aspects must be carefully considered and evaluated.
- OSTI ID:
- 217904
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9509215--
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Journal Issue: Suppl.1 Vol. 72; ISSN TANSAO; ISSN 0003-018X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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