Options for the disposition of current inventory of Rocky Flats Plant residues. Revision 1
With the end of the Cold War, much concern has been directed towards the accumulation of special nuclear material resulting from the dismantlement of a large number of nuclear weapons. This concern has opened up a debate over the final disposition of the large inventory of weapons-capable plutonium. Technologies for the conversion of plutonium into acceptable forms will need to be assessed and evaluated. Candidate strategies for interim and final disposition include a variety of immobilization techniques (vitrification in glass, ceramic, or metal), conversion to reactor fuel, or direct discard as waste. The selected disposition strategy will be chosen based upon a range of decision metrics such as expected conversion costs, equipment requirements, and waste generation. To this end, a systems analysis approach is necessary for the evaluation and comparison of the different disposition strategies. Current data on inventory of plutonium, such as that at the Rocky Flats Plant (RFP), may be useful for the evaluation and selection of candidate disposition technologies. A preliminary analysis of the residues of scrap at Rocky Flats was performed to establish a foundation for comparison of candidate strategies. About 3 metric tons of plutonium and 270 metric tons of other wastes remain in the inventory at Rocky Flats. Estimates on the equipment, facility, manpower, and cost requirements to process this inventory over a proposed 10-year cleanup campaign will provide a benchmark for comparison and assessment of proposed disposition technologies.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 52778
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-117455-Rev.1; ON: DE95011424; TRN: 95:011994
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 3 Oct 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
ROCKY FLATS PLANT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
PLUTONIUM
NUCLEAR WEAPONS DISMANTLEMENT
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
INVENTORIES
SCRAP METALS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COST ESTIMATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
SIZING
EXPERIMENTAL DATA