The blending strategy for the plutonium immobilization program
The Department of Energy (DOE) has declared approximately 38.2 tonnes of weapons-grade plutonium to be excess to the needs of national security, 14.3 tonnes of fuel- and reactor-grade plutonium excess to DOE needs, and anticipates an additional 7 tonnes to be declared excess to national security needs. Of this 59.5 tonnes, DOE anticipates that {approximately} 7.5 tonnes will be dispositioned as spent fuel at the Geologic Repository and {approximately} 2 tonnes will be declared below the safeguards termination limit and be discard3ed as TRU waste at WIPP. The remaining 50 tonnes of excess plutonium exists in many forms and locations around the country, and is under the control of several DOE offices. In addition to the plutonium, the feed stock also contains about 17 tonnes of depleted uranium, about 600 kg of highly enriched uranium, and many kilograms of neptunium and thorium and about 8 to 10 tonnes of tramp impurities. The Materials Disposition Program (MD) will be received materials packaged by these other Programs to disposition in a manor that meets the spent fuel standard. To minimize the cost of characterization of the feedstock and to minimize purification processes, a blending strategy will be followed. The levelization of the impurities, the plutonium isotopics, and the actinide impurities will also provide some benefits in the area of proliferation resistance. The overall strategy will be outlined and the benefits of following a blending instead of a purification program will be discussed.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Defense Programs (DP) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 8506
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-133279; GA0102011; GA0102011; TRN: US0102667
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management '99 Symposium, Tucson, AZ (US), 02/28/1999--03/04/1999; Other Information: PBD: 12 Feb 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Process Testing to Support the Conceptual Design of a Plutonium Vitrification Facility
Process modeling of plutonium conversion and mixed-oxide fuel fabrication for plutonium disposition
Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
DEPLETED URANIUM
HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM
NATIONAL SECURITY
PLUTONIUM
SAFEGUARDS
SPENT FUELS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
WIPP
PROLIFERATION