A performance indicator for reduction in vulnerability through stabilization of plutonium
- Dept. of Energy, Germantown, MD (United States)
- Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States). Dept. of Advanced Technology
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is currently storing several metric tons of plutonium in various forms in a variety of facilities throughout the DOE complex. Since the cessation of weapons production in 1990, many of these facilities with plutonium in storage have not operated. Since the shutdown was regarded as temporary, little attempt was made at that time to empty the process lines of plutonium, or to place the plutonium in containers or packages that would provide safe storage for extended periods of time. As a result, the packages and containers providing interim storage are vulnerable to failure through leakage, rupture and other modes, and pose potential hazards to facility workers, the public and the environment. Here, an approach to measuring and tracking the reduction in vulnerabilities resulting from stabilizing and repackaging plutonium is developed and presented. The approach utilizes results obtained by the DOE Working Group on the vulnerabilities associated with plutonium storage.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH00016
- OSTI ID:
- 459413
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-63759; CONF-970437-1; ON: DE97002841; TRN: 97:007638
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 5. international topical meeting on nuclear thermal hydraulics operations and safety (NUTHOS-5), Beijing (China), 13-16 Apr 1997; Other Information: PBD: [1997]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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