3.2. SOURCE MATERIALS

Source materials are defined as uranium and thorium, and ores containing them. Nearly all information in the uranium and thorium raw-material field is unclassified. This includes geology, mineralogy, prospecting methods, extraction, and processing (including plant design, technology, and capacity). All information concerning U.S. stockpiles of uranium and thorium ores and concentrates is unclassified.

3.3. NUCLEAR MATERIALS PRODUCTION

A. REACTOR PRODUCTS

The production and processing of reactor products such as plutonium and tritium contributes to our military strength and is important to our national security. However, only that information essential primarily to defense activities or to furthering nuclear nonproliferation objectives need remain classified.

1a. Unclassified. Information (including effluent data) concerning the design, construction, or operation of a production reactor or its auxiliaries. (But see topics 1b through 6b).

1b. Classified. Significant process parameters for the manufacture of fuel and target elements that relate only to the large-scale production of reactor products for military purposes.

2a. Unclassified. Production rates and quantities of reactor products other than Pu-239 and tritium H-3), provided quantities allocated for military use are not revealed.

2b. Classified. Quantities of production reactor products other than Pu-239 and tritium (H-3) allocated for military use.

3a. Unclassified. Historical annual plutonium production at the Hanford site.

4a. Unclassified. Total quantities of plutonium produced at the Hanford site and at the Savannah River site.

4b. Classified. Military allocations of Pu-239 and tritium.

5a. Unclassified. Total quantity of tritium produced at the Hanford site.

5b. Classified. Quantity and rate of production of tritium at the Savannah River site.

6a. Unclassified. Technology for laboratory or pilot scale tritium processing.

6b. Classified. Significant technology for large-scale processing of tritium. (But see topics 6a and 7a.)

7a. Unclassified. Technology for cryogenic distillation of tritium.

8a. Unclassified. All information concerning the civil nuclear fuel cycle: physics, engineering, chemistry and chemical technology, including plant design, construction, or operation. This topic includes thorium metallurgy and processing, raw materials processing, refining, UF{sub 4} manufacturing, UF{sub 6} preparation, reprocessing and recovery of Pu and U from nuclear fuels, and the reduction of U and Pu compounds to metal.

8b. Classified. Critical specifications of material produced for military purposes when the specifications reveal classified features or principles of weapon design.

9a. Unclassified. Historical total amounts of gaseous tritium released at Savannah River site.

B. ISOTOPE SEPARATION

Technological information regarding isotope separation that would enable other nations or subnational groups to attain or improve a nuclear weapons capability is of particular importance to the common defense and security. Therefore, declassification of information concerning gaseous diffusion, gas centrifuge, laser isotope separation, and other methods of isotope separation capable of producing Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) or other isotopes of military interest in militarily useful quantities, is justified only when the contribution to the scientific and peaceful applications of nuclear energy or to other compelling national interests clearly outweighs the risk of the disclosure.

Gaseous Diffusion

In the field of uranium isotope separation, although some methods previously used on a production scale have been declassified and widely published abroad (e.g., the electromagnetic and thermal diffusion methods), some important details of gaseous diffusion technology remain classified.

1a. Unclassified. Basic theoretical work on reflux separation processes without specific reference to current or proposed diffusion cascades.

2a. Unclassified. Separative capacity of a single gaseous diffusion plant or the entire complex.

2b. Classified. Critical design technology and operating parameters of a gaseous diffusion plant.

3a. Unclassified. Basic studies on chemistry, chemical compounds, or analytical techniques.

3b. Classified. Operating technology used in the diffusion plants for stabilizing cascade components against corrosion or unplugging the barriers.

4a. Unclassified. Basic studies on chemical kinetics, including corrosion, without reference to diffusion plants.

4b. Classified. The chemical effect of uranium hexafluoride on certain components of diffusion plants.

5a. Unclassified. Historical production quantities of enriched uranium.

5b. Classified. The quantities of highly enriched uranium produced for or allocated to classified programs.

6a. Unclassified. Information on gas compressor seals not revealing features critical to a diffusion plant; e.g., external view and dimensions of seals.

6b. Classified. Information on gas compressor seals or seal performance that is critical to a gaseous diffusion plant.

7a. Unclassified. Certain general characteristics of gaseous diffusion plant barriers; e.g., that the barrier is made of nickel.

7b. Classified. Detailed information on the technology (including the performance) of gaseous diffusion plant barriers.

Gas Centrifuge

With respect to the gas centrifuge method of isotope separation, it is important that technical information which would enhance the capability of others to exploit this method be kept classified, to the extent practicable, due to the potential of the process to produce clandestinely weapons-grade uranium or other isotopes of military interest.

8a. Unclassified. Information on the design, construction, or operation of gas centrifuges for the separation of isotopes which does not represent an advance in the state of the art beyond that which has been declassified.

8b. Classified. Detailed information on the design, construction, and operation of gas centrifuges for the separation of isotopes of military interest.

Laser Isotope Separation

Laser isotope separation (LIS) is an advanced technology that has received support because of its potential for separating isotopes of uranium and other isotopes of military interest in significant quantities. Therefore, detailed information about LIS is classified.

9a. Unclassified. Process concepts and general descriptions of uranium laser isotope separation methods.

9b. Classified. Those aspects of research and development on sources, collectors, operating parameters, and certain laser characteristics important to the development of a practical process for uranium laser isotope separation.

10a Fact of research on plutonium or its compounds as candidates for laser isotope separation and that successful separation of plutonium isotopes has been achieved.

10b. Classified. Detailed information concerning plutonium isotope separation process descriptions, equipment, operating conditions, and performance.

11a. Unclassified. Fact that plutonium isotope separation research efforts have developed along the same general lines as uranium efforts.

11b. Classified. Details on transferability of equipment design and operating techniques from the uranium to the plutonium program.

12a. Unclassified. Laser isotope separation research and methods for non-fissile isotopes provided no classified information about separation of fissile isotopes is revealed.

Other Methods of Isotope Separation

Information concerning early work on advanced methods of isotope separation is unclassified until it has reached a point that it has a reasonable potential for the separation of practical quantities of Special Nuclear Material (SNM). Certain information about processes of separating other isotopes of military interest such as lithium-6 (Li-6) is classified.

13a. Unclassified. Basic theoretical and experimental work on other methods of isotope separation.

13b. Classified. Information concerning research and development or production for other methods of isotope separation that have a reasonable potential for the separation of practical quantities of special nuclear material or other isotopes of military interest.

14a. Unclassified. All information on uranium enrichment using electromagnetic or liquid thermal diffusion isotope separation methods.

14b. Classified. Information on new advanced electromagnetic separation methods may be classified if they are capable of producing practical quantities of special nuclear material or other isotopes of military interest.

15a. Unclassified. Production processes for deuterium (H-2).

15b. Classified. Quantities of deuterium allocated to classified programs.

16a. Unclassified. General description of the processes used or investigated for the separation of lithium isotopes. Total amounts of mercury used at Oak Ridge for Li-6 separation, and amount lost to the environment.

16b. Classified. Li-6 stockpile quantities and detailed operating technology.

17b. Classified. Historical production and assay of enriched lithium. Inventory of associated depleted lithium "tails" stored at Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

3.4 NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES

As used here, the term nuclear explosive includes a nuclear weapon, weapon prototype, weapon test device, or "peaceful nuclear explosive." Of all types of information defined as Restricted Data in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, that information pertaining to the design, manufacture, and utilization of nuclear explosive devices is the most important to protect for the common defense and security. In this field, it is particularly important that we avoid revealing information that may contribute to the initiation or the advancement of a nuclear weapons capability by other nations. In general, the protection of detailed information revealing: (1) design, operation, and utilization of nuclear explosive devices; (2) special techniques for their manufacture; (3) rates of production, reserves, and storage sites of weapons and weapon components; and (4) methods for command/control, destruct, and sabotage, is of vital importance to the common defense and security. However, it should be noted that over the years much general nuclear weapons-related information has been declassified based on the fundamental criterion in the AEA of no "undue risk" and detailed considerations such as those listed in section 2.

A. WEAPONS SCIENCE

Basic science as such is unclassified (see section 3.1). In some instances, however, classification has been imposed in situations where the underlying science is unclassified, but either the fact of its association with weapon design or the exact manner in which it is applied to weapon technology should be protected. The principal areas of interest for nuclear explosives include material properties (e.g., nuclear reactions, equations of state, opacities) and theoretical/computational methods for hydrodynamics, transport (of neutrons, photons, and charged particles), and yield, or energy production.

Properties of Matter

1a. Unclassified. The basic theory of opacity and equations of state (EOS), including most methods of computation.

1b. Classified. Specialized methods for calculating the opacity and equation of state (EOS) of some heavy elements under conditions important in the design of nuclear weapons, and the results of such calculations.

2b. Classified. Measured opacities at all temperatures for atomic number Z between 36 and 71, if useful for determining classified opacities.

3a. Unclassified. Frequency-dependent or averaged opacity data for materials having elements with Z less than 36 at all temperatures, measured frequency- dependent opacity for Z between 36 and 71 if not useful for determining classified opacities, frequency averaged opacity for Z greater than 71 at temperatures below 350 eV [NOTE 1].

3b. Classified. Opacity data for materials having elements with Z greater than 71, for all densities, at temperatures above 350 eV[NOTE 1]. Frequency dependent opacities for Z greater than 71 at temperatures above 50 eV.

4a. Unclassified. Equation of state data for materials having elements with Z less than 72 when not of special importance for designing weapons, with Z equals 72 through 91 for pressures less than 10 megabars [NOTE 2], with Z equal to 92 for pressure equal to or less than 1 megabar, with Z = 93 or 94 for static pressure no higher than 20 kbar, and for Z greater than 94 for static pressures no higher than 1 Mb.

4b. Classified. Equation of state data for materials having elements with Z less than 72 if of special importance for designing weapons, for Z equals 72 through 91 at pressures greater than 10 megabars, for Z equal to 92 at all pressures greater than 1 megabar, for Z = 93 or 94 at all dynamic pressures and static pressures above 20 kb, and with Z greater than 94 at any dynamic pressures and static pressures above 1 Mb.

5b. Classified. Equation of state and opacity data based on weapons tests or classified experiments, or data authoritatively identified as used or useful for nuclear weapon design.

6a. Unclassified. Nuclear properties of all isotopes

6b. Classified. Nuclear data authoritatively identified as used or useful for nuclear weapon design.

7a. Unclassified. Studies on chemical explosives other than those that demonstrate significant advance in nuclear weapon performance.

7b. Classified. Studies on chemical explosives of specific importance to nuclear weapon design; e.g., composition and properties of high explosives that demonstrate significant advance in nuclear weapon performance.