Materials management issues at the Savannah River Site
The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Savannah River site near Aiken, South Carolina, has been primarily the production of nuclear materials for national defense requirements since its construction in the early 1950s. The material production facilities at the site have also produced special isotopes for space, commercial, medical, research, and other uses. With the end of the Cold War and the resultant major reduction in the nation`s nuclear weapons stockpile, production of additional {sup 239}Pu for weapons as well as production of tritium in the near term in the three operating production reactors was terminated several years ago. At the same time, operation of the two major chemical separation facilities was curtailed for several years to resolve regulatory issues and implement safety improvements. These actions and the decision that recovery of highly enriched uranium from spent fuel was no longer required in support of the reactor fuel cycle resulted in a condition where significant quantities of nuclear materials have remained in various phases of the processing cycle for much longer periods than planned or previously experienced. Evaluations of this situation have identified potential environmental, health, and safety vulnerabilities with the continued storage of many of these materials in their current locations and configuration.
- OSTI ID:
- 411585
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-951006-; ISSN 0003-018X; TRN: 97:000836
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 73; Conference: Winter meeting of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), San Francisco, CA (United States), 29 Oct - 1 Nov 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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